In this paper, a novel and facile
synthetic method of 3-mercaptopropionic
acid functionalized copper nanoclusters with aggregation-induced emission
(AIE) induced by Cu2+ (Cu2+@MPA-Cu NCs) was
developed by a one-pot reaction as a fluorescent probe for the detection
of sulfide ion (S2–). The prepared Cu2+@MPA-Cu NCs behaved as aggregated clusters and had strong pink fluorescence
under 365 nm UV light with excellent fluorescence emission at 610
nm. The quantum yield increased from 0.56% to 4.8% before and after
Cu2+ added. The presence of S2– would
strongly bind to Cu2+, which caused the structure of the
aggregated Cu2+@MPA-Cu NCs to be destroyed and then the
fluorescence quenched. On the basis of this principle, a fluorescent
probe was constructed for the detection of S2– with
a very good linearity in the range 0–600 μM (R
2 = 0.9843) and a detection limit of 26.3 nM.
Finally, the nanohybrids were successfully demonstrated for the application
in the selective detection of S2– in food additives.
This study essentially paved a new avenue for effectively developing
an easy sensor platform for S2– measurements in
food additives.