Fluorescent difference between two rhodamine-PAHs polystyrene solid-phase sensors for Hg(II) detection based on...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Mercury ions (Hg(II)) pose significant environmental and health risks.
• Developing selective and sensitive detection methods for Hg(II) is crucial.
• Solid-phase fluorescence sensors offer advantages in sample handling and analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize novel rhodamine-polystyrene solid-phase fluorescence sensors for Hg(II) detection.
• To evaluate the selectivity, sensitivity, and detection mechanism of the developed sensors.
• To assess the practical applicability of the sensors in real-world samples.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of rhodamine-polystyrene solid-phase fluorescence sensors (PS-RB-2 and PS-R6G-2).
• Characterization using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
• Theoretical analysis including crystal structure and density functional theory (DFT) calculations to elucidate the detection mechanism.

Main Results:

• Sensor PS-RB-2 demonstrated superior selectivity and sensitivity towards Hg(II) with a low detection limit of 0.065 μM.
• A mechanism involving Hg(II) chelation-induced spirocycle opening of rhodamine was proposed and theoretically supported.
• The sensor exhibited recyclable and environmentally friendly performance.

Conclusions:

• The developed solid-phase fluorescence sensor PS-RB-2 is highly effective for selective and sensitive Hg(II) detection.
• The sensor shows great potential for practical applications in environmental monitoring and food safety.
• Solid-phase extraction columns were developed for rapid, visual Hg(II) detection.