Synthesis and optical properties of Schiff base derivatives based on 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)benzothiazole (HBT) and application in the detection of N2H4.

[Display omitted] • Four HBT-based Schiff base derivatives incorporating different substituents are synthesized. • The effects of different substituents on the luminescence properties and aggregate state of the molecules were investigated. • Compound HBT-4 has excellent detection performance for N 2 H 4 by both absorbance and fluorescence spectra. • HBT-4 can be prepared into a simple test paper as an efficient tool for the rapid detection of N 2 H 4 in real water samples. Four 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)benzothiazole-based Schiff base derivatives incorporating different substituents were synthesized. Their optical properties were characterized by UV–visible and fluorescence spectra. The electron-withdrawing and electron-donating actions of substituents can change the orbital energy level distributions of molecules resulting in the difference of their luminescence properties. And the fluorescence microscopic images showed that these derivatives had different aggregation behaviors to form aggregates of different shapes. Furthermore, compound HBT-4 has been proved to have excellent recognition performance for N 2 H 4 in real aqueous solution. Finally, HBT-4 could be prepared into a simple test paper as an efficient tool for the rapid detection of N 2 H 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]