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Polyethyleneimine-Protected Ag2S Quantum Dots for Near-Infrared Fluorescence-Enhanced Detection of Trace-Level Hg2+ in Water

  • ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
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Abstract

In this work, we have developed a near-infrared emissive polyethyleneimine capped Ag2(PEI-Ag2S QD) quantum dots based chemosensor for sensing trace-level Hg2+ in water by taking advantage of the metal-induced aggregation strategy. The fluorescence determination of Hg2+ by PEI-Ag2S QD at different pH (pH 4, 7, and 10) were performed, respectively. Under the optimum conditions, the selectivity of this system for Hg2+ over other metal ions in aqueous solutions was remarkably high, and its detection limits was 0.5 nM at pH 4. In addition, the present approach provides the advantages of rapidity, simplicity, low background and low cost. The assay also offers great potential for specific detection of Hg2+ in real water samples. This developed PEI-Ag2S QD-based method presages more opportunities for application in environmental systems.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (21707030) and Wuhan Youth Science and technology plan (2016070204010133).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials, Wuhan, China

    J. Q. You, D. Yan, Y. He, Y. L. Ge & G. W. Song

  2. Ministry-of-Education Key Laboratory for the Synthesis and Application of Organic Functional Molecules, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan, China

    Y. He & G. W. Song

  3. Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Regional Development and Environment Response, Wuhan, China

    Y. He, J. G. Zhou & G. W. Song

Authors
  1. J. Q. You
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  2. D. Yan
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  3. Y. He
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  4. J. G. Zhou
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  5. Y. L. Ge
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  6. G. W. Song
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Correspondence to Y. He.

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You, J.Q., Yan, D., He, Y. et al. Polyethyleneimine-Protected Ag2S Quantum Dots for Near-Infrared Fluorescence-Enhanced Detection of Trace-Level Hg2+ in Water. J. Water Chem. Technol. 42, 36–44 (2020). https://doi.org/10.3103/S1063455X20010105

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