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Visual colorimetric detection of tin(II) and nitrite using a molybdenum oxide nanomaterial-based three-input logic gate

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Abstract

We report a molybdenum oxide (MoO3) nanomaterial-based three-input logic gate that uses Sn2+, NO2−, and H+ ions as inputs. Under acidic conditions, Sn2+ is able to reduce MoO3 nanosheets, generating oxygen-vacancy-rich MoO3−x nanomaterials along with strong localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and an intense blue solution as the output signal. When NO2− is introduced, the redox reaction between the MoO3 nanosheets and Sn2+ is strongly inhibited because the NO2− consumes both H+ and Sn2+. The three-input logic gate was employed for the visual colorimetric detection of Sn2+ and NO2− under different input states. The colorimetric assay’s limit of detection for Sn2+ and the lowest concentration of NO2− detectable by the assay were found to be 27.5 nM and 0.1 μM, respectively. The assay permits the visual detection of Sn2+ and NO2− down to concentrations as low as 2 μM and 25 μM, respectively. The applicability of the logic-gate-based colorimetric assay was demonstrated by using it to detect Sn2+ and NO2− in several water sources.

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Acknowledgements

The support of this research by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 21705134) and the Longshan Scholars Programme of Southwest University of Science and Technology (grant no. 17LZX449) is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, 621010, Sichuan, China

    Jiayan Du, Wei Huang & Yuequan Deng

  2. School of National Defence Science & Technology, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, 621010, Sichuan, China

    Mengxin Zhao & Yi He

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  1. Jiayan Du
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  2. Mengxin Zhao
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  3. Wei Huang
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  4. Yuequan Deng
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Correspondence to Yi He.

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Du, J., Zhao, M., Huang, W. et al. Visual colorimetric detection of tin(II) and nitrite using a molybdenum oxide nanomaterial-based three-input logic gate. Anal Bioanal Chem 410, 4519–4526 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-018-1109-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-018-1109-4

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