Discriminating between Different Heavy Metal Ions with Fullerene-Derived Nanoparticles

Erica Ciotta; Paolo Prosposito; Pietro Tagliatesta; Chiara Lorecchio; Lorenzo Stella; Saulius Kaciulis; Peiman Soltani; Ernesto Placidi; Roberto Pizzoferrato

doi:10.3390/s18051496

Discriminating between Different Heavy Metal Ions with Fullerene-Derived Nanoparticles

Sensors (Basel). 2018 May 10;18(5):1496. doi: 10.3390/s18051496.

Authors

Erica Ciotta¹, Paolo Prosposito^{2

3}, Pietro Tagliatesta⁴, Chiara Lorecchio⁵, Lorenzo Stella⁶, Saulius Kaciulis⁷, Peiman Soltani⁸, Ernesto Placidi⁹, Roberto Pizzoferrato¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy. Erica.Ciotta@uniroma2.it.
² Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy. paolo.prosposito@uniroma2.it.
³ INSTM and CiMER, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy. paolo.prosposito@uniroma2.it.
⁴ Department of Chemical Sciences and Technology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy. pietro.tagliatesta@uniroma2.it.
⁵ Department of Chemical Sciences and Technology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy. chiaralorec@hotmail.it.
⁶ Department of Chemical Sciences and Technology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy. stella@stc.uniroma2.it.
⁷ Institute for the Study of Nanostructured Materials, CNR of Italy, Monterotondo Stazione, 00015 Rome, Italy. saulius.kaciulis@ismn.cnr.it.
⁸ Institute for the Study of Nanostructured Materials, CNR of Italy, Monterotondo Stazione, 00015 Rome, Italy. peymansoltani14@gmail.com.
⁹ CNR-Istituto di Struttura della Materia, Via Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Roma, Italy. ernesto.placidi@roma2.infn.it.
¹⁰ Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy. pizzoferrato@uniroma2.it.

Abstract

A novel type of graphene-like nanoparticle, synthesized by oxidation and unfolding of C₆₀ buckminsterfullerene fullerene, showed multiple and reproducible sensitivity to Cu²⁺, Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, and As(III) through different degrees of fluorescence quenching or, in the case of Cd²⁺, through a remarkable fluorescence enhancement. Most importantly, only for Cu²⁺ and Pb²⁺, the fluorescence intensity variations came with distinct modifications of the optical absorption spectrum. Time-resolved fluorescence study confirmed that the common origin of these diverse behaviors lies in complexation of the metal ions by fullerene-derived carbon layers, even though further studies are required for a complete explanation of the involved processes. Nonetheless, the different response of fluorescence and optical absorbance towards distinct cationic species makes it possible to discriminate between the presence of Cu²⁺, Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, and As(III), through two simple optical measurements. To this end, the use of a three-dimensional calibration plot is discussed. This property makes fullerene-derived nanoparticles a promising material in view of the implementation of a selective, colorimetric/fluorescent detection system.

Keywords: carbon nanoparticles; fluorescence quenching; fluorescence turn-on; heavy metals; metal complexation; optical sensors.