Analytical Sciences

A Selective, Colorimetric and Ratiometric Chemosensor for Hg²⁺ and Its Application as Test Papers

Hongwei ZHOU, Wei TIAN, Min JIANG, Peng LI, Shihao ZENG, Weixing CHEN, and Aijie MA

School of Material and Chemical Engineering, Xi’an Technological University, Xi’an 710021, P. R. China

Chemosensors provide an efficient and low-cost approach to the detection of various metal ions and small molecules. In the present work, we present a detailed investigation of a simple, easily-prepared, yet efficient, coumarin-based sensor for Hg²⁺. The sensor is based on a fluorescent group of coumarin. When exposed to Hg²⁺, the sensor solution shows a significant color change from yellow to red, and a fluorescence change from green to orange. Further study revealed that the sensor responds solely to Hg²⁺, and shows excellent selectivity even in the presence of other potential competition metal ions, including Na⁺, K⁺, Co²⁺, Fe²⁺, Cd²⁺, Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, Ag⁺, Zn²⁺, Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺, Pb²⁺, Fe³⁺. Furthermore, the sensor has been successfully applied to detect Hg²⁺ in a form of test paper, which may promote easy and effective application of the sensor.

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