Theoretical insights into the fluoride anion response mechanism of a fluorescence chemosensor 4‐((tert‐butyldiphenylsilyl)oxy)isophthalaldehyde.

It is well known that ions play important roles in our life sciences, and the detection of ions has attracted more and more attention. In this work, we focus on the sensing response mechanism of a novel fluoride chemosensor, 4‐((tert‐butyldiphenylsilyl)oxy)isophthalaldehyde (BIPA). Based on density functional theory and time‐dependent density functional theory methods, we clarify that fluoride anions could trigger the cleavage reaction of the Si‐O bond of BIPA in the ground state. And, the potential energy curve of desilylation process reveals the rapid response to fluoride anions. Comparing the binding energies between fluoride anions and other anions, we confirm that only the fluoride anions could be detected using the BIPA chemosensor in ethanol solvent. Considering the photo‐excitation process, we find the strong intramolecular charge transfer process for the S0 → S1 transition could explain the red shift of the absorption spectra of the BIPA system. This work not only clarifies the specific fluoride‐sensing mechanism, but also plays a role in facilitating designing and synthesizing of novel fluorescent sensors in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]