One-bath synthesis of hydrophilic molecularly imprinted quantum dots for selective recognition of chlorophenol

A simple one-bath strategy has been developed to synthesize a novel CdTe@SiO2@MIP (molecularly imprinted and silica-functionalized CdTe quantum dots, MISFQDs), in which a silica shell was coated on the surface of CdTe quantum dots (CdTe@SiO2 QDs) and then a polymer for selective recognition of 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) was constructed on the surface of CdTe@SiO2 QDs using mercaptoacetic acid as stabilizer, 3-aminopropyl-trimethoxysilane (APTES) as functional monomers and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as crosslink agent. The structures of CdTe@SiO2@MIP were analyzed by ultraviolet–visible absorption, Fluorescence, FT-IR spectrum and powder X-ray diffraction. The application and characterization of the CdTe@SiO2@MIP were investigated by experiments. All results indicated that the CdTe@SiO2@MIP can selectively recognize 4-chlorophenol.