"Killing two birds with one stone": A fluorescent hybrid nanoparticle modified with BODIPY for efficiently detection and removal of toxic Cu (II) ion from aqueous solutions.

In this paper, we successfully synthesized a fluorescent hybrid material (f-Silica gel) for the removal and recognition of cations. A Bodipy derivative was used as a source of fluorescent material. The characterization of Bodipy derivative and the modified surfaces were performed by some techniques like NMR, XRD, SEM, and FT-IR. The spectroscopic studies (complex stoichiometry, pH effect, response time) were carried out with fluorescence spectroscopy for the sensitive and selective recognition of Cu (II) ions. The LOD (limit of detection) was calculated as 4.63 μM and the most optimum response time was determined as 25 min. Moreover, the complex interaction between f-Silica gel and Cu (II) ions stables generally in the range of pH: 1-12. f-Silica gel can be also used as a solid support surface to remove Cu (II) ions from the wastewater. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms of Cu (II) on the f-Silica gel were determined with several parameters such as the amount of adsorbent, temperature, and pH. Langmuir adsorption isotherm model was performed for the adsorption of Cu (II) ions and the maximum capacity was found to be 19. 920 mg/g. The kinetic data ensured that the R value was obtained as 0.9941 from the kinetic model (pseudo-second-order). Thus, it is very close to the desired value (1) and the value of q is very close to the value of q. The thermodynamic results support the spontaneous, random, and endothermic adsorption process. All results indicated that the hybrid material can be used as both a sensor and an adsorbent for the detection and removal of Cu (II) ions in environmental processes.