Abstract
Water-soluble gold nanorods (Au NRs) have been functionalized with an N-alkylaminopyrazole ligand, 1-[2-(octylamino)ethyl]-3,5-diphenylpyrazole (PyL), that has been demonstrated able to coordinate heavy metal ions. The N-alkylaminopyrazole functionalized Au NRs have been characterized by electron microscopy and spectroscopic investigation and tested in optical detection experiments of different ions, namely, Zn2+, Cd2+, Hg 2+, Cu2+, Pb2+, and As3+. In particular, the exposure of the functionalized NRs to increasing amounts of Hg2+ ions has resulted in a gradual red-shift and broadening of the longitudinal plasmon band, up to 900 nm. Interestingly, a significantly different response has been recorded for the other tested ions. In fact, no significant shift in the longitudinal plasmon band has been observed for any of them, while a nearly linear reduction in the plasmon band intensity versus ion concentration in solution has been detected. The very high sensitivity for Hg2+ with respect to other investigated ions, with a limit of detection of 3 ppt, demonstrates that the functionalization of Au NRs with PyL is a very effective method to be implemented in a reliable colorimetric sensing device, able to push further down the detection limit achieved by applying similar strategies to spherical Au NPs. © 2013 American Chemical Society.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1084-1092 |
Journal | ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces |
Volume | 5 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 13 Feb 2013 |
Keywords
- assembly
- functionalization
- gold nanorods
- mercury
- sensing