Silver nanoparticles deposited on amine-functionalized silica spheres and their amalgamation-based spectral and colorimetric detection of Hg(II) ions

A facile synthetic method to decorate amine-functionalized silica spheres (SiO2) by silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) is reported. The transmission electron microscopic (TEM) images showed that spherical Ag NPs with an average particle size of 14 nm were deposited on 250 nm-sized SiO2 spheres (SiO2/Ag NPs). The spectral and colorimetric detection of Hg(II) ions were carried out using the synthesized SiO2/Ag NPs with an experimental detection limit of 5 mu M. It was found that the addition of Hg(II) ions (150 mu M) into the solution of SiO2/Ag NPs completely quenched the SPR band of the Ag NPs due to the formation of anisotropic Ag amalgam crystals (AgHg). The selective detection of Hg(II) ions by SiO2/Ag NPs in the presence of other environmentally relevant metal ions was also demonstrated using spectral and colorimetric methods.