Novel Herocyclic Ligands with Tuned Hydrophobicity

Heterocyclic azodyes of the pyridylazonaphthol and pyridylazoresorcinol series containing tuned hydrophobic chains have been prepared. Due to their chelating properties, the dyes are suitable candidates for preconcentration and selective separation of transition metal ions. After a discussion on the choice of the best synthetic pathway, physical and spectral uv/visible properties are presented and correlated with the structural features. A detailed analysis of nmr spectra allowed the clarification of currently unresolved signal assignments.