Synthesis of photoluminescent o-phenylenediamine-m-phenylenediamine copolymer nanospheres: An effective fluorescent sensing platform for selective and sensitive detection of chromium(VI) ion

In this paper, we demonstrated a fluorescent o-phenylenediamine-m-phenylenediamine copolymer sensing system, which was synthesized by a facile and one-step hydrothermal method. The copolymer was first used as fluorescent probe for the detection of Chromium(VI) ion (Cr6+) and showed high selectivity and sensitivity. The detection limit was 1×10−11 M. It showed excellent linear relationships in wide range of 7×10−11-6×10−10 M. Moreover, the addition of ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) to the detection system could successfully combine with Cr6+ to form metal chelates, making the fluorescence recovery of o-phenylenediamine-m-phenylenediamine copolymer. What is important, the prepared process had no addition of initiating agent.