A highly selective optical sensor for aniline recognition.

In this paper, an optical sensor, 2,6-bis(2-benzimidazolyl)pyridine, is reported to be highly selective towards aniline. A unique spectral response of 2,6-bis(2-benzimidazolyl)pyridine towards aniline is found, and a linear relationship between the sensor's emission intensity and the aniline's concentration is observed, making 2,6-bis(2-benzimidazolyl)pyridine a promising candidate for practicable optical sensors of aniline recognition.