title: Inkjet printing lanthanide doped nanorods test paper for visual assays of nitroaromatic explosives.
abstract: The facile and sensitive strategies for detections of nitroaromatic explosives are highly desirable in many challenging environments, especially for homeland security against terrorism. Here, we inkjet printed polyethylenimine (PEI)-coated Ce, Tb co-doped NaGdF4 nanorods (NaGdF4:Ce/Tb NRs) onto common filter paper to construct test paper for visual and instant detections of a typical explosive 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP). Polyethylenimine molecules not only facilitate the formation of uniform NaGdF4 nanorods but also provide specific recognized sites for TNP by the acid-base pairing interaction. The resultant TNP bound at the surface of PEI-coated NaGdF4:Ce/Tb NRs can strongly quench the phosphorescence with a remarkably high quenching constant by the charge transfer mechanism from NaGdF4:Ce/Tb NRs to TNP. By printing of the probe on a piece of filter paper, trace amounts of TNP can be visually detected by the appearance of a dark color against a bright green background under a UV lamp. This test paper can detect TNP as low as 0.45 ng mm(-2) by the naked eye, which provides a potential application in the rapid, on-line detections of explosives.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China; Institute of Intelligent Machines, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230031, China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Qingsong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Mei
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Renyong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Mingyong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Ruilong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhongping
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D053834:Explosive Agents / Q000032:analysis*; D007281:Ink; D028581:Lanthanoid Series Elements / Q000737:chemistry*; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry*; D009578:Nitrobenzenes / Q000032:analysis*; D010209:Paper; D010316:Particle Size; D011094:Polyethyleneimine / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D011327:Printing; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D053834:Explosive Agents; D028581:Lanthanoid Series Elements; D009578:Nitrobenzenes; D011094:Polyethyleneimine
keywords: 2,4,6-Trinitrophenol; Charge transfer; Lanthanide doped nanorods; Test paper