Size-tunable copper nanocluster aggregates and their application in hydrogen sulfide sensing on paper-based devices.
Polystyrene sulfonate (PSS), a strong polyelectrolyte, was used to prepare red photoluminescent PSS-penicillamine (PA) copper (Cu) nanoclusters (NC) aggregates, which displayed high selectivity and sensitivity to the detection of hydrogen sulfide (H2S). The size of the PSS-PA-Cu NC aggregates could be readily controlled from 5.5 μm to 173 nm using different concentrations of PSS, which enabled better dispersity and higher sensitivity towards H2S. PSS-PA-Cu NC aggregates provided rapid H2S detection by using the strong Cu-S interaction to quench NC photoluminescence as a sensing mechanism. As a result, a detection limit of 650 nM, which is lower than the maximum level permitted in drinking water by the World Health Organization, was achieved for the analysis of H2S in spring-water samples. Moreover, highly dispersed PSS-PA-Cu NC aggregates could be incorporated into a plate-format paper-based analytical device which enables ultra-low sample volumes (5 μL) and feature shorter analysis times (30 min) compared to conventional solution-based methods. The advantages of low reagent consumption, rapid result readout, limited equipment, and long-term storage make this platform sensitive and simple enough to use without specialized training in resource constrained settings.
Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan.
Po-Cheng
PC
Chen
Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan.
Yu-Chi
YC
Li
Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan.
Jia-Yin
JY
Ma
Graduate Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan.
Jia-Yu
JY
Huang
Graduate Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan.
Chien-Fu
CF
Chen
Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan.
Huan-Tsung
HT
Chang
D002623:Chemistry Techniques, Analytical / Q000295:instrumentation*; D003300:Copper / Q000378:metabolism*; D006862:Hydrogen Sulfide / Q000032:analysis*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000378:metabolism*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
D014873:Water Pollutants; D014867:Water; D003300:Copper; D006862:Hydrogen Sulfide