A novel isophorone-based fluorescent probe for recognition of Al3+ and its bioimaging in cells and plants

•A novel ICT isophorone fluorescent probe for Al3+ was synthesized.•The probe H-1 exhibited high selectivity and sensitivity detection of Al3+ with a larger Stoke-shift.•The detection limit of H-1 for Al3+ is as low as 10-8 M.•H-1 can be applied in bioimaging of Al3+ in living cells and in plant tissues.