Polyethyleneimine-protected silver cluster for label-free and highly selective detection of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene

Sensitive and selective detection of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) is critical for environmental protection and public health. In this work, a convenient synthesis strategy for preparation of fluorescent PEI-AgNCs was described and further a facile and label-free sensing strategy for detection of TNT was developed. The hyperbranched polyethyleneimine (PEI) were used as template to one-step synthesize functional PEI-AgNCs with bright fluorescence signal and rich amino groups on their surface. PEI can specifically bind to electron-deficient TNT through donor-receptor interaction to form Meissenheimer complex. Interestingly, the absorption spectra of the Meissenheimer complex overlap with the fluorescence emission peak of PEI-AgNCs, thus quenching fluorescence of PEI-Ag NCs through fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). Furthermore, this bonding process also initiate aggregation of PEI-AgNCs and quench the fluorescence of PEI-AgNCs by the aggregation-induced quenching (AIQ) effect. The novel method demonstrates sensitivity with a detection limit for TNT have been obtained as 17 nM. In addition, the proposed sensing method also has good selectivity over other potential interference and displayed a good potential application value in real water samples with satisfactory recoveries, offering a promising platform for sensing TNT in public safety and security environment protection.