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Aggregation-induced chemiluminescence system for sensitive detection of mercury ions

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Abstract

As mercury ions (Hg2+) are emanated to surroundings in the course of various natural events and human activities, an accurate sensing of Hg2+ is essential for human health and environmental protection. Herein, a new aggregation-induced chemiluminescence (CL) sensor for fast, sensitive, and selective detection of Hg2+ is developed, based on the CL enhancement of bis(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)oxalate (TCPO)-H2O2 system by thiolate-protected gold complexes (Au(I)-thiolate complexes) in the aggregated state. Because Hg2+ has a strong interaction with hydrosulfuryl (-SH) groups in Au(I)-thiolate complexes, the aggregation is disrupted and the CL is quenched. The decrease of CL intensity is proportional to Hg2+ contents with a linear range of 0.005–10 μg mL−1 and the limit of detection (LOD) is 3 ng mL−1. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first AIE CL sensor for Hg2+ detection. The study opens up attractive perspectives for developing simple and rapid aggregation-induced CL methods in monitoring heavy metals.

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Funding

This work received funding from Shaanxi Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 2018JM2002). This work also received support from the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. GK201902009, No. GK201701002) and Program for Innovative Research Team in Shaanxi Province (No. 2014KCT-28).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science of Shaanxi Province, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Shaanxi, 710062, Xi’an, China

    Yue Hou, Ying Chen, Xiaoyan Guo, Wei Liu, Liu Zhang, Congcong Lv, Yunlong Xu, Yan Jin & Baoxin Li

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  1. Yue Hou
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  2. Ying Chen
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  3. Xiaoyan Guo
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  4. Wei Liu
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  5. Liu Zhang
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  6. Congcong Lv
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  7. Yunlong Xu
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  8. Yan Jin
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Correspondence to Wei Liu.

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Hou, Y., Chen, Y., Guo, X. et al. Aggregation-induced chemiluminescence system for sensitive detection of mercury ions. Anal Bioanal Chem 413, 625–633 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-020-03033-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-020-03033-5

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