Plasmonic scattering imaging of single Cu2-xSe nanoparticle for Hg2+ detection

Hongyan Zou; Lijun Gong; Yue Xu; Huanhuan Ni; Yongjian Jiang; Yuanfang Li; Chengzhi Huang; Qingqing Liu

doi:10.1016/j.talanta.2023.124663

Plasmonic scattering imaging of single Cu_2-xSe nanoparticle for Hg²⁺ detection

Talanta. 2023 Aug 15:261:124663. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2023.124663. Epub 2023 May 16.

Authors

Hongyan Zou¹, Lijun Gong², Yue Xu², Huanhuan Ni¹, Yongjian Jiang¹, Yuanfang Li², Chengzhi Huang³, Qingqing Liu⁴

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Luminescence Analysis and Molecular Sensing (Southwest University), Ministry of Education, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.
² Chongqing Key Laboratory of Luminescent and Real-Time Analysis System, Chongqing Science and Technology Commission, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, 400715, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Luminescence Analysis and Molecular Sensing (Southwest University), Ministry of Education, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China. Electronic address: chengzhi@swu.edu.cn.
⁴ College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China. Electronic address: qliu677@swu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37209587
DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2023.124663

Abstract

The development of new efficient contrast nanoprobe has been greatly concerned in the field of scattering imaging for sensitive and accurate detection of trace analytes. In this work, the non-stoichiometric Cu_2-xSe nanoparticle with typical localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) properties originating from their copper deficiency as a plasmonic scattering imaging probe was developed for sensitive and selective detection of Hg²⁺ under dark-field microscopy. Hg²⁺ can compete with Cu(I)/Cu(II) which were sources of optically active holes coexisting in these Cu_2-xSe nanoparticles for its higher affinity with Se^2-. The plasmonic properties of Cu_2-xSe were adjusted effectively. Thus, the color scattering images of Cu_2-xSe nanoparticles was changed from blue to cyan, and the scattering intensity was obviously enhanced with the dark-field microscopy. There was a linear relationship between the scattering intensity enhancement and the Hg²⁺ concentration in the range of 10-300 nM with a low detection limit of 1.07 nM. The proposed method has good potential for Hg²⁺ detection in the actual water samples. This work provides a new perspective on applying new plasmonic imaging probe for the reliable determination of trace heavy metal substances in the environment at a single particle level.

Keywords: Cu(2-x)Se; Dark-field microscopy; Hg(2+) detection; Scattering imaging; Single particle.