Molecularly imprinted polymer on ionic liquid-modified CdSe/ZnS quantum dots for the highly selective and sensitive optosensing of tocopherol

Abstract

A new molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP), which acts as a fluorescence nano-sensing material, has been developed for the highly selective and sensitive optosensing of tocopherol (TP). The material was constructed by anchoring the MIP layer on 1-vinyl-3-octylimidazolium ionic liquid (IL)-modified CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) by copolymerization. Here, the IL was first introduced to the surface of the QDs using a one-step modification of the electrostatic interactions to prepare uniform MIPs. The MIP fluorescence was more strongly quenched by TP than the non-imprinted polymer was, which indicated that the QDs@IL@MIP could recognize the corresponding TP without the need for inducers and derivatization.