Mercury contamination poses human health as well as ecosystem at significant risks. This study introduces a novel approach for the selective detection with removal of Hg2+ ions from aqueous media by developing a dual functional adsorbent that combines calcium alginate microbeads (FMCAB) with capped cadmium sulfide quantum dots (CdS QDs). CdS QDs immobilized on calcium alginate microbeads in magnetite facilitated efficient separation from the adsorption system under an external magnetic field. The fluorescence properties of CdS QDs remain largely unaffected before and after adsorption of Hg2+ ions on FMCAB, enabling selective monitoring of these ions. The adsorbent demonstrated a high adsorption capacity of around 160 μg/g and exhibited a quick and effective process. FMCAB evidenced selectivity over the other metal ions with limits of detection 12.9 μM. The results from this research pave the way for novel applications of FMCAB for heavy metal ions sensing probes and its removal.
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