Metal Nanostructures for Environmental Pollutant Detection Based on Fluorescence

Heavy metal ions and pesticides are extremely dangerous for human health and environment and an accurate detection is an essential step to monitor their levels in water. The standard and most used methods for detecting these pollutants are sophisticated and expensive analytical techniques. However, recent technological advancements have allowed the development of alternative techniques based on optical properties of noble metal nanomaterials, which provide many advantages such as ultrasensitive detection, fast turnover, simple protocols, in situ sampling, on-site capability and reduced cost. This paper provides a review of the most common photo-physical effects impact on the fluorescence of metal nanomaterials and how these processes can be exploited for the detection of pollutant species. The final aim is to provide readers with an updated guide on fluorescent metallic nano-systems used as optical sensors of heavy metal ions and pesticides in water

Sensitivity to Heavy-Metal Ions of Cage-Opening Fullerene Quantum Dots

In this study, we have carried out a characterization of the quenching effect produced by some commonly encountered metal ions (Co2+, Cu2+, Ni2+, Pb2+, Cd2+, As5+) on the photoluminescence of water suspensions of open-cage fullerene quantum dots prepared with a modified Hummers method. The response to heavy-metal ions occurs through a selective quenching of the PL emission and modifications of the absorption spectrum

Synthesis and characterization of two new triads with ferrocene and C60 connected by triple bonds to the beta-positions of meso-tetraphenylporphyrin

The 2,12 pyrrole positions of meso-tetraphenylporphyrin were functionalized through triple carbon–carbon bonds by C60 and ferrocene giving new electron donor–acceptor triads which have been characterized and studied by photophysical methods. The fluorescence spectra of the new compounds have been compared to those previously reported for similar compounds giving as a result an increase of the quantum efficiency based on the larger separation of fullerene from the porphyrin ring. On the contrary the efficiency decreases with the presence of a phenylene spacer between ferrocene and the macrocycle

Hydrophilic silver nanoparticles with tunable optical properties: application for the detection of heavy metals in water

Due their excellent chemo-physical properties and ability to exhibit surface plasmon resonance, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have become a material of choice in various applications, such as nanosensors, electronic devices, nanobiotechnology and nanomedicine. In particular, from the environmental monitoring perspective, sensors based on silver nanoparticles are in great demand because of their antibacterial and inexpensive synthetic method. In the present study, we synthesized AgNPs in water phase using silver nitrate as precursor molecules, hydrophilic thiol (3-mercapto-1-propanesulfonic acid sodium salt, 3MPS) and sodium borohydride as capping and reducing agents, respectively. The AgNPs were characterized using techniques such as surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential (ζ-potential) measurements and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Further, to demonstrate the environmental application of our AgNPs, we also applied them for heavy metal sensing by detecting visible color modification due to SPR spectral changes. We found that these negatively charged AgNPs show good response to nickel (II) and presented good sensibility properties for the detection of low amount of ions in water in the working range of 1.0–0.1 pp

Sensitivity to heavy-metal ions of unfolded fullerene quantum dots

A novel type of graphene-like quantum dots, synthesized by oxidation and cage-opening of C60buckminsterfullerene, has been studied as a ï¬\u82uorescent and absorptive probe for heavy-metal ions. The lattice structure of such unfolded fullerene quantum dots (UFQDs) is distinct from that of graphene since it includes both carbon hexagons and pentagons. The basic optical properties, however, are similar to those of regular graphene oxide quantum dots. On the other hand, UFQDs behave quite differently in the presence of heavy-metal ions, in that multiple sensitivity to Cu2+, Pb2+and As(III) was observed through comparable quenching of the ï¬\u82uorescent emission and different variations of the transmittance spectrum. By dynamic light scattering measurements and transmission electron microscope (TEM) images we conï¬\u81rmed, for the ï¬\u81rst time in metal sensing, that this response is due to multiple complexation and subsequent aggregation of UFQDs. Nonetheless, the explanation of the distinct behaviour of transmittance in the presence of As(III) and the formation of precipitate with Pb2+require further studies. These differences, however, also make it possible to discriminate between the three metal ions in view of the implementation of a selective multiple sensor

Optical Characterization of Cesium Lead Bromide Perovskites

CsPbBr3 and Cs4PbBr6 perovskite powders have been synthesized through a relatively simple low-temperature and low-cost method. Nanocrystalline films have also been deposited from solutions with four different molar compositions of binary salt precursors. Optical absorption, emission and excitation spectra have been performed in the UV-visible spectral range while X-ray diffraction (XRD) has been recorded to characterize the nanocrystal morphology for the different molar compositions. A preferential orientation of crystallites along the (024) crystalline plane has been observed as a function of the different deposition conditions in films growth. All the crystals show an absorption edge around 530 nm; Tauc plots of the absorption returned bandgaps ranging from 2.29 to 2.35 eV characteristic of CsPbBr3 phase. We attribute the UV absorption band peaked at 324 nm to the fundamental band-to-band transition for Cs4PbBr6. It was observed that the samples with the most ordered Cs4PbBr6 crystals exhibited the most intense emission of light, with a bright green emission at 520 nm, which are however due to the luminescence of the inclusion of CsPbBr3 nanoclusters into the Cs4PbBr6. The latter shows instead an intense UV emission. Differently, the pure CsPbBr3 powder did not show any intense fluorescent emission. The excitation spectra of the green fluorescent emission in all samples closely resemble the CsPbBr3 absorption with the peculiar dip around 324 nm as expected from density of state calculations reported in the literature