Visual and colorimetric determination of mercury (II) based on lignosulfonate-capped silver nanoparticles

Lignosulfonate /silver nanoparticles (L-AgNPs) were synthesized by a one-pot method. The structure of the prepared L-AgNPs was characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The prepared L-AgNPs were spherical with a size of approximately 16-22 nm, whereas the structure of lignosulfonate did not change during the synthesis. The synthetic method is green, simple and fast. As a heavy metal, establishing a green and rapid detection method for mercury ion is very important. L-AgNPs exhibited high selectivity for mercury (II), a detection range of 0-68 mu M, and a minimum detection limit of 7 nM. The detection method developed in this work was used for the determination of mercury (II) in actual water samples, and the results agreed well with those obtained by a colorimetric method. This study provides a new idea for the practice of green chemistry and a novel method for the detection of mercury (II).

Automated summary

Lignosulfonate/silver nanoparticles (L-AgNPs) were synthesized using a one-pot method and characterized using various techniques. The L-AgNPs were spherical with a size of 16-22 nm, and the structure of lignosulfonate remained unchanged. The synthetic method is green, simple, and fast, and the L-AgNPs exhibited high selectivity for mercury (II) with a detection range of 0-68 μM and a minimum detection limit of 7 nM. The developed detection method was successfully applied to actual water samples and showed good agreement with a colorimetric method. This study provides a new approach for green chemistry practice and a novel method for mercury (II) detection.