A facile synthesis of Ag nanoparticles for mercury ion detection with high sensitivity and selectivity

Abstract

A facile one-step synthesis of Ag nanoparticles (NPs) with particle sizes less than 5 nm is presented. The average size, size distribution and morphology of the NPs were determined using a number of techniques, including UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and a particle size analyzer (PSA). Furthermore, the resulting Ag NPs, without extra treatment, could be used as a probe to detect Hg(II) ions in aqueous media. The response in absorbance was linearly proportional to the concentration of mercury ions in the range 0.2-3 nM. Unlike some recent reports, this absorbance-based detection scheme does not require surface modification of the NPs or oligonucleotides as targeting elements, or complicated detection systems. The method is very simple yet highly sensitive, with an observed detection limit down to 0.2 nM. Most other common ions, at 100-fold higher concentrations, have little interfering effect on the mercury ion detection.

Room Temperature Synthesis and Catalytic Properties of Surfactant-Modified Ag Nanoparticles

“…Room temperature synthesis routes for the fabrication of Ag nanoparticles have been investigated recently, showing promising application feasibility and reliability for largescale manufacture with energy saving and safety. Zhang et al [5] and Huang et al [6] prepared Ag nanoparticles at room temperature, showing excellent antibacterial properties; Li et al [22] prepared Ag nanoparticles at room temperature, which was confirmed to be effective for detecting mercury ion with high sensitivity and selectivity; snowflake-like dendritic Ag Nanostructures [23] and Ag nanowires [24] were also prepared at room temperature. As the concept of "green methods" has become more and more important since the last decade [6], nanomaterials scientists start to pay more attention to facile, safe, and environmentally friendly routes for synthesizing Ag nanoparticles, and room temperature is one of the most promising routes to realize this goal.…”

Luminescent turn-on detection of Hg(II) via the quenching of an iridium(III) complex by Hg(II)-mediated silver nanoparticles

“…The luminescence enhancement displayed a linear range of Hg(II) concentration from 0 to 180 nM with a correlation coefficient of 0.997 (Figure S8 (ESI†)), indicating the potential capability of this system in quantitative analysis of Hg(II). Notably, a limit of detection (LOD) for Hg(II) was calculated to be 5 nM according to the equation C lim  = 3δ/ k , which is lower than the maximum permissible level (10 nM) of Hg(II) in drinking water specified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 7, 46 . Additionally, the sensitivity of this proposed method is also found to be comparable to other reported methods for Hg(II) detection as summarized in Table S2 (ESI†) 6–8, 12, 13, 17,19–22, 47–53 .

Figure 5( a ) Luminescence emission spectra of 1.0 μM complex 1 in Tris-HNO 3 buffer solution (pH 7.0) containing 0.4 μM Ag nanoparticles and different concentrations of Hg(II) (from bottom to top: 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140, 160, 180, 220, 270, 360, and 520 nM).

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Flow-injection chemiluminescence method for the determination of moxifloxacin in pharmaceutical tablets and human urine using silver nanoparticles sensitized calcein–KMnO4 system

“…Among them, silver nanoparticle (AgNP) has been extensively studied due to their beneficial catalytic, electrical, optical and properties [16][17][18]. With the vast progress of awareness in the field of nanotechnologies and the spectral theories, the luminescence properties of metal NP have also been testified [19][20][21][22].…”