Colorimetric determination of Hg(II) by combining the etching and aggregation effect of cysteine-modified Au-Ag core-shell nanorods

A simple and effective approach for colorimetric detection of Hg2+ based on surface etching and aggregation effect of cysteine-modified Au-Ag core-shell nanorods has been investigated. Both the intensity decrease and wavelength shift of the LSPR peak could be used in Hg2+ sensing, which greatly enlarges the detection range.