State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China.
Environ Sci Technol. 2023 Jul 4;57(26):9874-9883. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.3c02273. Epub 2023 Jun 19.
Advanced techniques for nickel (Ni(II)) removal from polluted waters have long been desired but challenged by the diversity of Ni(II) species (most in the form of complexes) which could not be readily discriminated by the traditional analytical protocols. Herein, a colorimetric sensor array is developed to address the above issue based on the shift of the UV-vis spectra of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) after interaction with Ni(II) species. The sensor array is composed of three Au NP receptors modified by -acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC), tributylhexadecylphosphonium bromide (THPB), and the mixture of 3-mercapto-1-propanesulfonic acid and adenosine monophosphate (MPS/AMP), to exhibit possible coordination, electrostatic attraction, and hydrophobic interaction toward different Ni(II) species. Twelve classical Ni(II) species were selected as targets to systematically demonstrate the applicability of the sensor array under various conditions. Multiple interactions with Ni(II) species were evidenced to trigger the diverse Au NP aggregation behaviors and subsequently produce a distinct colorimetric response toward each Ni(II) species. With the assistance of multivariate analysis, the Ni(II) species, either as the sole compound or as mixtures, can be unambiguously discriminated with high selectivity in simulated and real water samples. Moreover, the sensor array is very sensitive with the detection limit in the range of 4.2 to 10.5 μM for the target Ni(II) species. Principal component analysis signifies that coordination dominates the response of the sensor array toward different Ni(II) species. The accurate Ni(II) speciation provided by the sensor array is believed to assist the rational design of specific protocols for water decontamination and to shed new light on the development of convenient discrimination methods for other toxic metals of concern.
从受污染的水中去除镍（Ni(II)）的先进技术一直是人们所期望的，但由于 Ni(II)物种的多样性（大多数以配合物的形式存在），传统的分析方法难以对其进行区分，因此这一目标一直具有挑战性。在此，我们基于金纳米粒子（Au NPs）与 Ni(II)物种相互作用后紫外-可见光谱的位移，开发了一种比色传感器阵列来解决上述问题。该传感器阵列由三个经 -乙酰-L-半胱氨酸（NAC）、三正丁基十六烷基溴化膦（THPB）和 3-巯基-1-丙磺酸和单磷酸腺苷（MPS/AMP）混合物修饰的 Au NP 受体组成，以展示对不同 Ni(II)物种可能的配位、静电吸引和疏水相互作用。选择了 12 种典型的 Ni(II)物种作为目标，以系统地证明传感器阵列在各种条件下的适用性。多种与 Ni(II)物种的相互作用被证明会引发不同的 Au NP 聚集行为，从而对每种 Ni(II)物种产生独特的比色响应。借助多元分析，可以在模拟和实际水样中，以高选择性、明确地区分 Ni(II)物种，无论是作为单一化合物还是混合物。此外，该传感器阵列具有很高的灵敏度，检测限范围为 4.2 至 10.5 μM。主成分分析表明，配位主导着传感器阵列对不同 Ni(II)物种的响应。相信该传感器阵列提供的准确 Ni(II)形态分析将有助于水净化的特定方案的合理设计，并为其他关注的有毒金属的便捷鉴别方法的开发提供新的思路。
