A novel acridine-based fluorescent chemosensor, BK ((E)-2-((acridine-9-ylimino)methyl)-N-benzhydrylhydrazine-1-carbothioamide), for monitoring ClO− was prepared. The sensor BK was synthesized by introducing a new synthetic route of making aldehyde group using formic hydrazide. Probe BK displayed notable fluorescence quenching in the presence of ClO− and showed a great selectivity over other guest analytes. The detection limit was calculated to be 7.65 μM. Additionally, BK was satisfactorily applied for sensing ClO− in water samples and zebrafish.
