Trace level determination of Hg2+ ions in environmental samples with a mercaptotriazole-functionalized TiO2 nanostructure-based fluorescent probe

A highly selective and sensitive fluorescent probe for the determination of Hg2+ ions is reported using substituted mercaptotriazole functionalized TiO2 nanoparticles (MMT@TiO2). The functionalized TiO2 nanoparticles were characterized by UV-vis spectrophotometric, spectrofluorometric, FT-IR, FT-Raman, XPS, TEM, SEM, EDAX and P-XRD analyses. The interaction of Hg2+ ions with functionalized MMT@TiO2 induced aggregation of nanoparticles causing chelation enhanced fluorescence. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation for the determination of Hg2+ ions were found to be 2.18 x 10(-10) M and 6.61 x 10(-10) M, respectively. The method developed was successfully applied for the determination of Hg2+ ions in environmental samples.