The sensitive detection and quantification of heavy and transition metal ions are particularly important. Among them, mercury(II) (Hg²⁺) and silver(I) (Ag⁺) ions, as the most ubiquitous heavy metal ion pollutants, are difficult to discriminate in the same system because of their similar reactions and coordination abilities. Herein, we designed and synthesized a “turn-on” chemosensor, RBTP, which is an intergrant of rhodol and 2-hydroxy benzothiazole by introducing a benzothiazole unit to the ortho-position of the phenolic hydroxy of rhodol. RBTP showed a sensitive dual-channel fluorescence-enhanced response to Hg²⁺ and Ag⁺ at 595 and 520 nm with low detection limits of 0.27 and 0.45 μM, respectively. Studies of their sensing mechanism indicated that the Hg²⁺-induced orange fluorescence at 595 nm originates from an irreversible Hg²⁺-promoted oxadiazole forming reaction and the Ag⁺-induced green fluorescence at 520 nm originates from special molecular packing of the RBTP-Ag⁺ complex. Furthermore, the potential of probe RBTP as practical biological imaging agents was further confirmed in HepG2 cells. Simultaneously, RBTP exhibited remarkable solid-state luminescence with an aggregation-induced emission (AIE) feature. The AIE mechanism was thoroughly explored using X-ray single-crystal structures and photophysical determinations.

中文翻译：

---

2-羟基苯并噻唑修饰的Rhodol：Hg ²⁺和Ag ⁺离子的聚集诱导发射和双通道荧光传感

重金属和过渡金属离子的灵敏检测和定量特别重要。其中，汞（II）（Hg ²⁺）和银（I）（Ag ⁺）离子是最普遍存在的重金属离子污染物，由于它们具有相似的反应和配位能力，因此很难在同一系统中进行区分。本文中，我们通过将苯并噻唑单元引入到Rhodol酚羟基的邻位，设计并合成了一种“开通”化学传感器RBTP，它是Rhodol和2-羟基苯并噻唑的结合剂。RBTP对Hg ²⁺和Ag ⁺表现出敏感的双通道荧光增强反应在595 nm和520 nm处的检测限分别为0.27和0.45μM。它们的感测机制的研究表明，汞²⁺在595nm处发源诱导的橙色荧光从一个不可逆的汞²⁺促进的恶二唑形成反应和银⁺诱导的绿色荧光在520nm源自从特殊分子堆积RBTP -银⁺复合物。此外，在HepG2细胞中进一步证实了探针RBTP作为实用的生物成像剂的潜力。同时，RBTP具有出色的固态发光和聚集诱导发射（AIE）功能。使用X射线单晶结构和光物理测定来彻底探索AIE机制。