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Detection of Hg in complex natural environmental conditions is extremely challenging, and no entirely successful methods currently exist. Here we report an easy-to-prepare fluorescent sensor B3 with 2-aminophenol as Hg receptor, which exhibits selective fluorescence enhancement toward Hg over other metal ions. Especially, the fluorescence enhancement was unaffected by anions and cations existing in environment and organism. Moreover, B3 can detect Hg in sulphide-rich environments without cysteine, S or EDTA altering the fluorescence intensity. Consequently, B3 is capable of distinguishing between safe and toxic levels of Hg in more complicated natural water systems with detection limit ≤2 ppb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]