Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>T<sub><i>x</i></sub> MXene Nanosheet-Based Probe for Ion Fluorescence and Visual Detection of Ag<sup>+</sup> in Aqueous Solution and Living Cells
Hongchi Xie, Xiaofang Liu, Huijuan Yu, Mohamed S. Selim, Xiang Chen, Zhifeng Hao
Abstract
In this study, a naked-eye visible and fluorescence-on Ag+ probe based on two-dimensional material MXene was successfully constructed. This study investigated the π–π and dispersive interactions between MXene and rhodamine-6G, and the reduction and growth of silver ions on the MXene surface. The characterization by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed our conjecture about this process. This probe shows competent highly selective real-time detection of Ag+ in aqueous solution with a 0.035 μM detection limit, which is also capable of Ag+ sensing in living cells. Comparing the fluorescence response of the probe to silver ions in the presence of other metal ions, it is confirmed that the probe has good selectivity to silver ions. In particular, this probe can also be carried out to detect and track Ag+ levels in living cells. The discoveries provide fresh insights into the detection and analysis of silver ions in environmental and biological samples. Meanwhile, this method also provides ideas for constructing MXene-based sensing platforms.