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Updated: Jan 29, 2026

Low-energy Cathodoluminescence for OxyNitride Phosphors
Published on: November 15, 2016
Detection of inorganic phosphor in environmental water samples using a lanthanide and nanoparticle chemosensor based
Madeleine Johnson1, Alaa Fadhel1, Khang Trieu1
1Department of Chemistry, University of Central Florida, P.O. Box 25000, Orlando, FL 32816-2366, USA.
Abstract:
A novel chemosensor is presented for the detection of inorganic phosphate (Pi) in environmental water samples. The sensing solution is comprised of terbium (Tb3+) chelated to ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) acid and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)-capped gold nanoparticles (Au NPs). Upon mixing, Tb-EDTA and Au NPs undergo Fӧrster resonance energy transfer (FRET) in which the luminescence from the lanthanide ion is quenched. Upon the addition of Pi, Au NPs aggregate and precipitate out of solution. The aggregation of Au NPs results in the restoration of the Tb-EDTA luminescence signal, which correlates linearly to the Pi concentration in the matrix of analysis. The limit of detection (LOD) of the luminescence sensor (83 ng·mL-1) is within the range of LODs previously reported for on-site monitoring of Pi. Quantitative analysis carried out via the multiple standard additions method provides accurate determination of Pi concentrations in heavily contaminated environmental waters.
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