Synthesis of cysteamine-coated CdTe quantum dots and its application in mercury (II) detection

High-quality cysteamine-coated CdTe quantum dots (CA-CdTe QDs) were successfully synthesized in aqueous phase by a facile one-pot method. Through hydroxylamine hydrochloride-promoted kinetic growth strategy, water-soluble CA-CdTe QDs could be obtained conveniently in a conical flask by a stepwise addition of raw materials. The photoluminescence quantum yield (PL QY) of the obtained QDs reached 9.2% at the emission peak of 520 nm. The optical property and the morphology of the QDs were characterized by UV–vis absorption spectra, photoluminescence spectra (PL) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) respectively. Furthermore, the fluorescence of the resultant QDs was quenched by copper (II) (Cu2+) and mercury (II) (Hg2+) meanwhile. It is worthy of note that to separately detect Hg2+, cyanide ion could be used to eliminate the interference of Cu2+. Under the optimal conditions, the response was linearly proportional to the logarithm of Hg2+ concentration over the range of 0.08–3.33 μM with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.07 μM.

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► High-quality CA-CdTe QDs were synthesized with a kinetic-growth strategy.
► The synthesis procedures were very simple.
► The obtained QDs were used to detect Hg2+ without the interference of Cu2+.