Quantitative determination of calcium ions by means of enhanced fluorescence of silver nanocluster complex

Abstract

A simple and green method for the synthesis of fluorescent silver nanocluster–nanoparticle complexes (AgNCs–AgNPs) is presented. In this method, Ag⁺ was reduced to form AgNCs–AgNPs using hydrogen as the reductant and sodium polyacrylate as a soft template at room temperature. The AgNCs–AgNPs possess strong fluorescence, and the fluorescence property has high sensitivity and excellent selectivity to Ca²⁺. An approach based on the enhancement of fluorescence was firstly applied for the quantitative determination of Ca²⁺. The approach displays a wide linear response, excellent selectivity and high sensitivity, and provides a potential candidate for the quantitative determination of Ca²⁺ in biological systems.