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A Mesoporous 3D Hybrid Material with Dual Functionality for Hg 2+ Detection and Adsorption
Author(s) -
RosLis José V.,
Casasús Rosa,
Comes María,
Coll Carmen,
Marcos M. Dolores,
MartínezMáñez Ramón,
Sancenón Félix,
Soto Juan,
Amorós Pedro,
Haskouri Jamal El,
Garró Nuria,
Rurack Knut
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.200800632
Subject(s) - mesoporous material , adsorption , dual (grammatical number) , chemistry , nuclear chemistry , radiochemistry , materials science , organic chemistry , catalysis , art , literature
Abstract Dual‐function hybrid material U 1 was designed for simultaneous chromofluorogenic detection and removal of Hg 2+ in an aqueous environment. Mesoporous material UVM‐7 (MCM41 type) with homogeneously distributed pores of about 2–3 nm in size, a large specific surface area exceeding 1000 m 2 g −1 , and nanoscale particles was used as an inorganic support. The mesoporous solid is decorated with thiol groups that were treated with squaraine dye III to give a 2,4‐bis(4‐dialkylaminophenyl)‐3‐hydroxy‐4‐alkylsulfanylcyclobut‐2‐enone (APC) derivative that is covalently anchored to the inorganic silica matrix. The solid was characterised by various techniques including X‐ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and nitrogen adsorption. This hybrid solid is the chemodosimeter for Hg 2+ detection. Hg 2+ reacts with the APC fragment in U 1 with release of the squaraine dye into the solution, which turns deep blue and fluoresces strongly. Naked‐eye Hg 2+ detection is thus accomplished in an easy‐to‐use procedure. In contrast, U 1 remains silent in the presence of other thiophilic transition metal ions, alkali and alkaline earth metal ions, or anions ubiquitously present in water such as chloride, carbonate, sulfate, and phosphate. Material U 1 acts not only as chemodosimeter that signals the presence of Hg 2+ down to parts‐per‐billion concentrations, but at the same time is also an excellent adsorbent for the removal of mercury cations from aqueous solutions. The amount of adsorbed mercury ranges from 0.7 to 1.7 mmol g −1 , depending on the degree of functionalisation. In addition, hybrid material U 1 can be regenerated for both sensing and removal purposes. As far as we know, U 1 is the first example of a promising new class of polyfunctional hybrid supports that can be used as both remediation and alarm systems by selective signalling and removal of target species of environmental importance. Model compounds based on silica gel ( G 1 ), fumed silica ( F 1 ), and micrometre‐sized MCM‐41 scaffolds ( M 1 ) were also prepared and studied for comparative purposes.