1.Key Laboratory of Analysis and Detection Technology for Food Safety (Ministry of Education and Fujian Province), Department of Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, 350116, People’s Republic of China ;
Abstract:
We describe a nanosensor for sensitive and selective detection of cyanide anions. The Ir(III) chlorine bridge complex [Ir(C^N)2-m-Cl]2 (Irpq, where pq is C^N = 2-phenyl quinoline) was doped into silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) with a typical size of about 30 nm. The intensity of the yellow emission of the doped SiNPs (under 410 nm exCitation) was strongly enhanced on addition of cyanide ions due to the replacement of chloride by cyanide. The method can detect cyanide ions in the 12.5 to 113 μM concentration range, and the limit of detection is 1.66 μM (at an S/N ratio of 3). The method is simple, sensitive and fast, and this makes it a candidate probe for the fast optical determination of cyanide.