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Progress on sensors based on nanomaterials for rapid detection of heavy metal ions

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Abstract

The heavy metal ions, especially Cd2+, Pb2+ and Hg2+, show extremely hazard to the environment and human being. The measurement of heavy metal ions using sensors is catching more and more attention for its advantages of high sensitivity and selectivity, low-cost, convenience to handle and rapid detection. In recent years, nanomaterials such as gold nanoparticles (NPs), magnetic nanoparticles, graphene and nanocomposite materials are applied in sensors for improving sensitivity and selectivity, making the research on electrochemical (EC) sensors, spectrometric biosensors and colorimetric biosensors become a hot spot in the application to investigate heavy metal ions, in particular, Cd2+, Pb2+ and Hg2+. In this short review, the research of advanced detection of Cd2+, Pb2+ and Hg2+ and its progress based on nanomaterial sensors in recent years is reviewed.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (61471168, 61571187), China Post-Doctoral Science Foundation (2016T90403), and the Economical Forest Cultivation and Utilization of 2011 Collaborative Innovation Center in Hunan Province [(2013) 448].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Economical Forest Cultivation and Utilization of 2011 Collaborative Innovation Center in Hunan Province, Hunan Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Application of Biological Nanotechnology, Hunan University of Technology, Zhuzhou, 412007, China

    Yuan Liu, Yan Deng, Hongming Dong, Keke Liu & Nongyue He

  2. State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China

    Nongyue He

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  1. Yuan Liu
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  2. Yan Deng
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  3. Hongming Dong
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  4. Keke Liu
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Correspondence to Yan Deng or Nongyue He.

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Liu, Y., Deng, Y., Dong, H. et al. Progress on sensors based on nanomaterials for rapid detection of heavy metal ions. Sci. China Chem. 60, 329–337 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-016-0253-2

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