Anion-driven selective colorimetric detection of Hg2+ and Fe3+ using functionalized silver nanoparticles

Abstract

A novel nanosensing system was developed by the surface functionalization of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with β-alanine dithiocarbamate (ADTC) for the selective recognition and monitoring of Hg²⁺ and Fe³⁺ ions in aqueous medium. This system showed a visually detectable colour change from yellow to colourless and the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band of AgNPs at 402 nm disappeared with the addition of both Hg²⁺ and Fe³⁺ ions due to the aggregation of nanoparticles. Interestingly, the functionalized AgNPs can be applied for the discrimination and selective detection of Hg²⁺ and Fe³⁺ in the presence of Br⁻ and Cl⁻, respectively.