Coordination polymer-derived nano-sized zinc ferrite with excellent performance in nitro-explosive detection

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Coordination Chemistry
• Nanotechnology
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Metal-organic coordination polymers offer tunable structures for advanced applications.
• Developing sensitive and selective methods for explosive detection is crucial for safety.
• Nanomaterials provide unique properties for sensing applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize a novel mixed metal coordination polymer.
• To utilize the polymer as a precursor for nano-sized zinc ferrite (ZnFe2O4).
• To investigate the luminescence properties of ZnFe2O4 for explosive detection.

Main Methods:

• Hydrothermal synthesis of the mixed metal coordination polymer.
• Thermal decomposition of the polymer to obtain nano-sized ZnFe2O4.
• Characterization using X-ray diffraction (XRD), IR, TGA, SEM, TEM, and EDX.
• Luminescence spectroscopy for sensing applications.

Main Results:

• Successful synthesis and characterization of the mixed metal coordination polymer.
• Formation of pure, nano-sized ZnFe2O4 from the polymer precursor.
• ZnFe2O4 exhibits strong luminescence at 402 nm.
• Luminescence quenching enables the detection of nitroaromatic explosives in aqueous media.
• Selective detection of phenolic nitroaromatics with a detection limit of 57 ppb for TNP.

Conclusions:

• The synthesized coordination polymer is an effective single-source precursor for nano-sized ZnFe2O4.
• Nano-sized ZnFe2O4 demonstrates promising luminescence properties for sensing.
• This work presents a novel method for the selective luminescence-based detection of nitroaromatic explosives.