Azathia crown ether possessing a dansyl fluorophore moiety functionalized silica nanoparticles as hybrid material for mercury detection in aqueous medium

Abstract

A novel fluorescent hybrid material for Hg2+detection using a derivative of dansyl fluorophore with azathia crown ether moiety grafted on silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) was prepared and characterized. The designed nanosensor exhibited pronounced Hg2+ selective ON–OFF type fluorescence switching upon binding. The presence of other metal ions has no observable effect on the sensitivity and selectivity of the prepared nanosensor toward the Hg2+ anions. The new nanosensor provided highly selective sensing to Hg2+) in EtOH/water solvent mixtures (pH=7) with a detection limit of 10−7 M.