Sulfur quantum dots as a novel platform to design a sensitive chemiluminescence probe and its application for Pb²⁺ detection

Abstract

Abstract The monitoring of Pb as a hazardous heavy metal element for the environment and human health is of high importance. In this study, a simple and sensitive chemiluminescence (CL) probe based on sulfur quantum dots (SQDs) was designed for the determination of Pb 2+ . To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the analytical application of the CL method based on SQDs. For this purpose, SQDs were synthesized using a simple hydrothermal method and characterized using transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X‐ray diffraction. Then, the direct CL of SQDs elicited by common oxidants was investigated. The highest CL intensity was observed for the SQDs–KMnO 4 reaction, and its CL mechanism was studied. We indicated that the CL intensity of introduced system can be diminished as a result of the interaction between Pb 2+ and SQDs, and exploited this fact for designing a CL‐based probe for the determination of Pb 2+ . The CL intensity of the SQDs–KMnO 4 reaction was linearly quenched using Pb 2+ in the range 50–2000 nM with a limit of detection of 16 nM (S/N = 3). The probe was used for the determination of Pb 2+ in different water samples and the recovery results (95.2–102.8%) indicated the good analytical performance of the developed method.

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