A BCNO QDs-MnO2 nanosheets based fluorescence “off-on-off” and colorimetric sensor with smartphone detector for the detection of organophosphorus pesticides

Abstract

In this work, boron carbon oxynitride quantum dots (BCNO QDs) were prepared by a one-step hydrothermal process of ethanolamine and boric acid. BCNO QDs exhibited blue fluorescence with the optimal excitation/emission fluorescence peak at 335 and 420 nm, respectively. As an efficient fluorescence quencher, manganese dioxide (MnO2) nanosheets can effectively quench the fluorescence of BCNO QDs via the inner filter effect (IFE). Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) catalyzes the hydrolysis of acetylcholine (ATCh) to produce thiocholine (TCh). TCh can reductively degrade MnO2 nanosheets to generate Mn2+, thereby recovering the fluorescence of BCNO QDs. Organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) can inhibit the activity of AChE enzymes, thereby preventing the production of TCh and the decomposition of MnO2 nanosheets, resulting in the fluorescence “turn-off”. Therefore, the concentration of OPs can be detected by measuring the fluorescence intensity change of AChE-ATCh-MnO2-BCNO-QDs system. Under optimal experimental conditions, the dynamic detection range of paraoxon is 0.1–250 ng mL−1, and the detection limit is 0.03 ng mL−1. Meanwhile, the reaction system also showed concentration-dependent visual color changes from colorless to brownish. Furthermore, we prepared a portable BCNO QDs test paper. By using a smartphone to identify the RGB values of the reaction solution and the corresponding test paper, we carried out the digital image chromaticity analysis, which can shorten the detection time and reduce the detection cost, and provide an effective solution for the rapid detection of OPs on site.