<p>In this project, terpyridine compound including aromatic moiety (L^TPY−1naph) was synthesized and characterized. In order to study the sensing properties, “Zinc(II) complexes” [ZnBr₂ (L^TPY−1naph)] was synthesized and characterized. To investigate the sensing properties of the complex toward sulfur aromatic pollutants, 2.8 × 10^–5&#xa0;M solution of the complexes in the presence of 1 to 10&#xa0;ppm of the pollutants was studied. The sensing response of the complex toward benzene toluene and phenyl-methyl sulfoxide is positive, whereas the sensing response of the complex toward phenyl-methyl sulfide, thiathrene, thiophene, and thiophenol. The reason for the positive response of the complex to some of these pollutants is a lone pair π…π between a lone pair of sulfur and an aromatic moiety of the terpyridine ligand.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>