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Functionalized magnetic core–shell Fe3O4@SiO2 nanoparticles for sensitive detection and removal of Hg2+

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Abstract

The Fe3O4 nanoparticles [NPs] coated with silica nanoparticles were designed and prepared, the obtained Fe3O4@SiO2 NPs have uniform spherical morphology with a mean diameter of about 22 nm. The inert silica coating on the surface of Fe3O4 NPs not only significantly prevented their aggregation in solution but also improved their chemical stability and provided wider sites for surface modification with organic chemosensors. Subsequently an attempt had been made that the as-synthesized Fe3O4@SiO2 NPs were modified by N-(rhodamine-6G) lactam–ethylenediamine, the functionalized magnetic Fe3O4@SiO2 NPs (Fe3O4@SiO2-Rho) served as a “naked eye” fluorescent sensor to detect Hg2+. The Fe3O4@SiO2-Rho NPs exhibited selective “turn-on” type fluorescent change from colorless to orange when adding to Hg2+. In addition, the adsorption experiments revealed that the Fe3O4@SiO2-Rho NPs had effective removal toward Hg2+. Moreover, the functionalized Fe3O4@SiO2 microspheres displayed superparamagnetic properties, which made it easier to separate the nanocomposites from the liquid phase by adding an external magnetic field. Our efforts provided a potential magnetic nanomaterial for sensitive detection and removal toward Hg2+ simultaneously.

Graphical Abstract

A rhodamine 6G derivative functionalized Fe3O4@SiO2 nanoparticles were designed and synthesized (as Fe3O4@SiO2-Rho). The Fe3O4@SiO2-Rho exhibited selective “turn-on” type fluorescent change from colorless to orange with Hg2+, which constituted an Hg2+-selective fluorescent colorimetric nanosensor.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support of this study from NSFC (50903041), Natural Science Foundation of Yunnan Province (2009 CD 026 and 2010 CA 019), 2010 Innovation Fund of Kunming University of Science and Technology (2012YA028), Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China (2009 QK 406) were gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Metallurgical and Energy Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650093, China

    Yaohui Xu, Yang Zhou, Wenhui Ma, Shixing Wang & Shaoyuan Li

  2. National Engineering Laboratory for Vacuum Metallurgy, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650093, China

    Yaohui Xu, Yang Zhou, Wenhui Ma & Shaoyuan Li

Authors
  1. Yaohui Xu
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  2. Yang Zhou
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  3. Wenhui Ma
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  4. Shixing Wang
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  5. Shaoyuan Li
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Correspondence to Yang Zhou or Wenhui Ma.

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Xu, Y., Zhou, Y., Ma, W. et al. Functionalized magnetic core–shell Fe3O4@SiO2 nanoparticles for sensitive detection and removal of Hg2+ . J Nanopart Res 15, 1716 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-013-1716-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-013-1716-0

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