Synthesis of π-extended and bowl-shaped sumanene-ferrocene conjugates and their application in highly selective and sensitive cesium cations electrochemical sensors.

Carbon-carbon bond formation, condensation or reactions were used to synthesize novel bowl-shaped sumanene-ferrocene conjugates, along with the extended π-electron framework in good yields. For the first time, the present study uses sumanene derivatives tris-substituted at the benzylic positions as the materials to begin the study on the or the metal-catalyzed coupling reactions, Suzuki-Miyaura or Sonogashira couplings. The synthesized conjugates exhibited the property of selective recognizing cesium cations. As a result, this led to the development of highly sensitive and selective fluorescent or electrochemical sensors dedicated to the recognition of cesium cations (Cs) in water. We successfully designed the Cs electrochemical sensors, which exhibited an acceptable limit of detection (LOD) values at 0.05-0.38 μM. Spectrofluorimetry, voltammetry, and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) were used to perform the selectivity studies. The results revealed that the designed sensors are highly Cs-selective. This work significantly contributes to the design of new methods of sumanene modification. It also provides further information on the electrochemical properties and innovative applications of metallocene-tethered sumanene derivatives.