A highly selective regenerable optical sensor for detection of mercury(ii) ion in water using organic-inorganic hybrid nanomaterials containing pyreneElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: The solid-state 29Si MAS NMR spectrum of Py-Si (Fig. S1), normalized fluorescence response I/I0 of Py-OH (1 × 10−5 M) in acetonitrile-water mixture (7 : 3 v/v) in the presence of various metal ions (1 × 10−3 M). λex = 350 nm and λem = 454 nm (Fig. S2). See DOI: 10.1039/c0nj00039f

• Main Authors: Wang, Yinghui, Li, Bin, Zhang, Liming, Liu, Lina, Zuo, Qinghui, Li, Peng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1144-0546; 1369-9261
• DOI: 10.1039/c0nj00039f

A novel fluorescent chemosensing hybrid material (Py-SBA-15) for detecting Hg 2+ ions in water was prepared through the functionalization of mesoporous silica (SBA-15) with a modified fluorescent chromophore, 1-(4′-hydroxyphenyl)-4-pyrenyl-2,3-diaza-1,3-butadiene (Py-OH). Py-OH covalently grafted to the coupling agent 3-(triethoxysilyl)propylisocyanate (TESPIC) was used as the precursor for the preparation of mesoporous hybrid material. The XRD data and TEM images of Py-SBA-15 confirm that the hexagonal ordered mesoporous structure is preserved after functionalization. Py-SBA-15 demonstrates a high selectivity for Hg 2+ ions in the presence of other metal ions, which results from a dramatic fluorescence enhancement by the addition of Hg 2+ ions upon the suspensions of Py-SBA-15. A good linearity (R 2 = 0.9989) between the fluorescence intensity of Py-SBA-15 and the concentration of Hg 2+ ions is constructed, and a satisfactory detection limit of 1.7 × 10 −7 g mL −1 is obtained. More importantly, Py-SBA-15 shows good regenerative ability due to the greatly minimized leaching effect of the sensing molecules by covalent grafting strategy. These results presented in this paper indicate that this hybrid material could be a promising fluorescence chemosensor for detecting Hg 2+ ions. A novel fluorescent chemosensing hybrid material containing pyrene (Py-SBA-15) for detecting Hg 2+ ions in water is prepared, and it shows high selectivity, satisfactory detection limit and good regeneration ability.