An anthracene-substituted benzoylthiourea for the selective determination of Hg(II) in micellar media

N-9-Anthrylmethyl-N-methyl-N'-benzoylthiourea (AnthBT) forms fluorescent co mplexes with several heavy metal ions. Strong increases in fluorescence int ensity are observed upon complexation with the highly thiophilic Ag(I), Cu( I) and Hg(II) ions, while other ions do not alter fluorescence significantl y. In the presence of the nonionic surfactant Triton X-100, only Hg(II) cau ses a higher fluorescence emission which is further enhanced by the surfact ant. The increase in fluorescence intensity is proportional to the Hg(II) c oncentration and permits highly selective mercury determinations in the low er mu g/1-range. Ubiquitous metal ions, such as Fe(III), Al(III), alkaline and earth alkaline metal ions, can be tolerated up to concentrations of 10 g/l and more; Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), and Pb(II), up to a 20000-fol d excess. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.