Selective Fluorogenic and Chromogenic Probe for Detection of Silver Ions and Silver Nanoparticles in Aqueous Media

A novel rhodamine-based fluorogenic and chromogenic probe for Ag+ ions in aqueous media is developed, which can be also used for the detection of AgNPs. The sensing mechanism is based on irreversible tandem ring-opening and -forming processes promoted by Ag+-coordination to the iodide of the probe, which is accompanied by both color and turn-on type fluorescence changes. The probe shows remarkably high selectivity over other metal ions and detects silver ions up to 14 ppb.