Anion-intercalated layered double hydroxides modified test strips for detection of heavy metal ions

•LDHs modified filter paper for detection of heavy metal ions has been developed.•Fe(CN)64- or S2- were successfully intercalated into LDHs modified test strips.•The test strips can detect heavy mental ions by observing the color change.•The test strips were highly stable and reproducible.

In this work, a novel approach for facile and rapid detection of heavy metal ions using anion-intercalated layered double hydroxides (LDHs) modified test strips is demonstrated. By intercalating Fe(CN)64− or S2− anions into the interlayers of LDHs on the filter paper, various heavy metal ions can be easily detected based on the color change before and after reaction between the anions and the heavy metal ions. Upon the dropping of heavy metal ions solutions to the test strips, the colors of the test strips changed instantly, which can be easily observed by naked eyes. With the decrease of the concentration, the color depth changed obviously. The lowest detection concentration can be up to 1×10−6 mol L−1. Due to the easily intercalation of anions into the interlayer of the LDHs on test trips, this procedure provides a general method for the construction of LDHs modified test strips for detection of heavy metal ions. The stability of the prepared test strips is investigated. Furthermore, all the results were highly reproducible. The test strips may have potential applications in environmental monitoring fields.

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