Herein, we describe a simple laboratory
experiment to address nanomaterial
synthesis, plasmon resonance, and its application to detect Cu2+ in ultralow concentrations. The proposed experiment is very
visual and appealing for chemistry students, especially the undergraduate-level
chemistry major. In this experiment, the aggregation of silver nanoparticles
(Ag NPs) promoted by interactions between the NPs and cations in solution
induces a color change in the Ag NP suspension. This visual color
change can be explained by concepts of plasmon resonance and nanomaterial
properties which can be addressed in this laboratory course. The experiment
comprises three main parts: (1) synthesis of Ag NPs using a well-established
method reported in the literature; (2) functionalization of the Ag
NP surface by l-cysteine; and (3) application of the Ag NPs
to detect Cu2+ ions in ultralow concentrations. This experiment
can be performed with a relatively simple laboratory infrastructure
and with instrumentation that is generally widely available.
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