Germanium nanocrystals as luminescent probes for rapid, sensitive and label-free detection of Fe3+ ions

Carolan, Darragh; Doyle, Hugh

Germanium nanocrystals as luminescent probes for rapid, sensitive and label-free detection of Fe3+ ions

Files

Germanium nanocrystals as luminescent probes for rapid, sensitive and label-free detection of Fe3+ ions.pdf(1.44 MB)

Accepted Version

Date

2015-02-24

Authors

Carolan, Darragh

Doyle, Hugh

Publisher

The Royal Society of Chemistry

Published Version

10.1039/C4NR07470J

Abstract

Luminescent water-soluble germanium nanocrystals (Ge NCs) have been developed as a fluorescent sensing platform for the highly selective and sensitive detection of Fe3+ via quenching of their strong blue luminescence, without the need for analyte-specific labelling groups. The amine-terminated Ge NCs were separated into two discrete size fractions with average diameters of 3.9 +/- 0.4 nm and 6.8 +/- 1.8 nm using centrifugation. The smaller 3.9 nm NCs possessed a strong blue luminescence, with an average lifetime of 6.1 ns and a quantum yield (QY) of 21.5%, which is strongly influenced by solution pH. In contrast, 6.8 nm NCs exhibited a green luminescence with a longer lifetime of 7.8 ns and lower QY (6.2%) that is insensitive to pH. Sensitive detection of Fe3+ was successfully demonstrated, with a linear relationship between luminescence quenching and Fe3+ concentration observed from 0-800 mu M, with a limit of detection of 0.83 mu M. The Ge NCs show excellent selectivity toward Fe3+ ions, with no quenching of the fluorescence signal induced by the presence of Fe2+ ions, allowing for solution phase discrimination between ions of the same element with different formal charges. The luminescence quenching mechanism was confirmed by static and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopies, while the applicability for this assay for detection of Fe3+ in real water samples was successfully demonstrated.

Keywords

Fluorescent sensing platform , Nanocrystals , Highly luminescent , Metal ions , Germanium , Sensitive detection

Citation

CAROLAN, D. & DOYLE, H. 2015. Germanium nanocrystals as luminescent probes for rapid, sensitive and label-free detection of Fe3+ ions. Nanoscale, 7, pp. 5488-5494. doi: 10.1039/C4NR07470J