Composites of surface imprinting polymer capped Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots for room-temperature phosphorescence probing of 2,4,5-trichlorophenol

In this paper, a simple procedure for the determination of 2,4,5-trichlorophenol (2,4,5-TCP) is reported. Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots (QDs) capped by molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were prepared. MIPs were characterized by spectrofluorometer, UV-vis spectrophotometer, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Meanwhile, spectrofluorometer was used to the evaluation of optical stability, the effect of pH, and the selective and sensitive determination of 2,4,5-TCP. Under optical conditions, MIPs-capped Mn-doped ZnS QDs were successfully applied to the detection of 2,4,5-TCP in water selectively and sensitively, and a linear relationship was obtained to cover the concentration range of 5.0-50 μmol L−1 with a correlation coefficient of 0.9913. Moreover, 2,4,5-TCP could quench the room temperature phosphorescence of MIPs-capped Mn-doped ZnS QDs in a concentration-dependent manner, which was best described by a Stern-Volmer-type equation.