Multifunctional gold coated rare-earth hydroxide fluoride nanotubes for simultaneous wastewater purification and quantitative pollutant determination

• The morphology and properties of Ce-doped yttrium hydroxide fluoride nanotubes (YHF:Ce NTs) were investigated.
• YHF:Ce NTs were conjugated with Au nanoparticles to produce Au-YHF:Ce nanocomposites.
• Au-YHF:Ce NTs showed excellent capability and efficiency in removing Congo red from solutions.
• Au-YHF:Ce NTs were utilized to determine the concentration of Congo red based on SERS.

Ce-doped yttrium hydroxide fluoride nanotubes (YHF:Ce NTs) with large surface area are synthesized and conjugated with Au nanoparticles (NPs) to produce Au-YHF:Ce nanocomposites. The Au-YHF:Ce NTs have a hollow structure, rough surface, polymer coating, and good surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) properties. They are applied to wastewater treatment to remove Congo red as a typical pollutant. The materials not only remove pollutants rapidly from the wastewater, but also detect trace amounts of the pollutants quantitatively. The multifunctional Au-YHF:Ce NTs have commercial potential as nano-absorbents and nano-detectors in water treatment and environmental monitoring.

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