Issue 10, 2019

A chemiluminescence method for the determination of mercury(ii) ions by tuning the catalytic activity of gold nanoparticles with ethylenediamine

Abstract

The development of simple and sensitive detection methods for mercury(II) ions (Hg2+) is crucial for environmental monitoring and human health protection. In the present study, ethylenediamine was found to inhibit the catalytic activity of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) in the luminol–AgNO3 chemiluminescence (CL) reaction. Interestingly, the specific binding of Hg2+ to the amino groups of ethylenediamine leads to the recovery of the CL signal. Hence, a simple and ultrasensitive CL detection method for the quantitative detection of Hg2+ was developed. In principle, the CL signal of the luminol–AgNO3–Au NPs CL reaction is quenched by ethylenediamine in the absence of Hg2+. On the contrary, with the addition of Hg2+ to the reaction system, the specific binding of Hg2+ to the amino groups of ethylenediamine leads to an enhanced CL intensity. Accordingly, the concentration of Hg2+ in the aqueous solution can be quantitatively detected. Under optimal conditions, the linear range for the detection of Hg2+ was from 1 fM to 1 pM with a detection limit of 0.54 fM. Also, the developed CL sensing method exhibited a high selectivity toward Hg2+ over other metal ions. This cost-effective and ultrasensitive sensing method was applied to determine Hg2+ in tap water samples with satisfactory recoveries.

Graphical abstract: A chemiluminescence method for the determination of mercury(ii) ions by tuning the catalytic activity of gold nanoparticles with ethylenediamine

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
26 Dec 2018
Accepted
04 Feb 2019
First published
09 Feb 2019

Anal. Methods, 2019,11, 1317-1323

A chemiluminescence method for the determination of mercury(II) ions by tuning the catalytic activity of gold nanoparticles with ethylenediamine

M. Wang, Y. Kong, Y. Li, Y. Huang and A. Fan, Anal. Methods, 2019, 11, 1317 DOI: 10.1039/C8AY02815J

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