Colorimetric detection of iron ions (III) based on the highly sensitive plasmonic response of the N-acetyl-l-cysteine-stabilized silver nanoparticles

Abstract

We report here a facile colorimetric sensor based on the N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NALC)-stabilized Ag nanoparticles (NALC–Ag NPs) for detection of Fe3+ ions in aqueous solution. The Ag NPs with an average diameter of 6.55±1.0nm are successfully synthesized through a simple method using sodium borohydride as reducing agent and N-acetyl-l-cysteine as protecting ligand. The synthesized silver nanoparticles show a strong surface plasmon resonance (SPR) around 400nm and the SPR intensity decreases with the increasing of Fe3+ concentration in aqueous solution. Based on the linear relationship between SPR intensity and concentration of Fe3+ ions, the as-synthesized water-soluble silver nanoparticles can be used for the sensitive and selective detection of Fe3+ ions in water with a linear range from 80nM to 80μM and a detection limit of 80nM. On the basis of the experimental results, a new detection mechanism of oxidation–reduction reaction between Ag NPs and Fe3+ ions is proposed, which is different from previously reported mechanisms. Moreover, the NALC–Ag NPs could be applied to the detection of Fe3+ ions in real environmental water samples.