Rhodamine 6G and Au–Pd core–shell nanorods: Fluorescence enhancement for detection of mercury

Abstract

We show that hybrid organic–inorganic particles are efficient for accurate sensing of mercury ions and following up trace amounts of the mercury pollutions spread in the environment. The process of synthesis of a working substance starts from preparation of rhodamine 6G derivative. Then the dye molecules are bound on the surface of Au–Pd core–shell nanorods. Mercury ions with different concentrations are finally attached onto this fluorescence sensor. Fluorescence emission of the sensor is detected with a luminescence spectrophotometer. The experimental results demonstrate that the fluorescence intensity of one of our sensors, a sensor B, is remarkably enhanced when the mercury-ion concentration increases from 0 to 15.5 µM. The limit of detection of the ions is as low as 20.6 nM. The working mechanism of our fluorescence sensor can be explained through the fluorescence-energy transfer and the plasmonic effect associated with spirolactam forms of rhodamine and conducting bimetallic nanoparticles.