Electrochemically assisted flexible lanthanide upconversion luminescence sensing of heavy metal contamination with high sensitivity and selectivity

Abstract

Heavy metal contamination in water can pose lethal threats to public health; therefore it is highly desired to develop a rapid and sensitive sensor for monitoring water quality. Owing to their superior optical features, upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) are widely explored to detect metal ions based on resonance energy transfer to dye quenchers. However, these schemes heavily rely on the optical properties of the molecules, which limits the flexibility of the probe design. Herein, a flexible carbon fiber cloth/UCNP composite probe was fabricated for sensing copper(II) (Cu 2+ ) ions and an electrochemical (E-chem) technique was implemented for the first time to enhance its sensing performance. By applying 0.3 V on the composite probe, Cu 2+ ions can be effectively accumulated through oxidation, yielding a remarkable improvement in the selectivity and sensitivity. A more outstanding detection limit of the sensor was achieved at 82 ppb under the E-chem assistance, with 300-fold enhancement compared to the detection without the E-chem effect. This sensing approach can be an alternative to molecular quenchers and open up new possibilities for simple, rapid and portable sensing of metal ions.

Efficient Energy Conversion and Storage Based on Robust Fluoride‐Free Self‐Assembled 1D Niobium Carbide in 3D Nanowire Network

“…The CFCs were purified as reported previously. [ 14,31 ] The CFCs were first cleaned by ethanol and acetone and immersed into the HNO 3 solution for 6 h under reflux. The CFCs were neutralized by the NaOH solution, followed by water wash for several times and dried in an oven at 60 °C.…”

“…[ 30 ] The carbon‐based substrate offers a 3D network for 2D materials and nanoparticle adsorption, thus decreasing the total resistance of the system. [ 31 ]…”

Facile Atomic‐Level Tuning of Reactive Metal–Support Interactions in the Pt QDs@ HF‐Free MXene Heterostructure for Accelerating pH‐Universal Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

“…The CFCs were purified as previously reported. [ 16,38 ] The CFCs were cleaned with ethanol and acetone before being submerged in the HNO 3 solution for 6 h under reflux. The NaOH solution neutralized the CFCs, which were then washed multiple times with water and dried in a 60 °C oven.…”

Pathogenic Virus Detection by Optical Nanobiosensors

“…In recent years, many researchers have been making their efforts to fabricate UCNPs-based probes for biodetetion. 15 , 61 …”