Synthesis and characterization of fluorescent gold clusters encapsulated in PNIPAM and PAAM hydrogels for selective detection of mercury in water

G. A. PINO

Environmental Science: Advances

Royal Society of Chemistry

Año: 2023 vol. 2 p. 1527 - 1527

2754-7000

he present work describes the synthesis of new nanomaterials based on gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) supported on poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) and polyacrylamide (PAAM) hydrogels, as well as their characterization in terms of structure and physicochemical properties. AuNCs were synthesized byincorporating the metallic precursor (Au3+) into the polymeric matrices and subsequently reducing it with UV-vis light (l = 365 nm). The materials were characterized by UV-vis, FT-IR, fluorescence spectroscopy, TEM and SEM. Likewise, the thermal properties and the swelling capacity of the differentpolymer matrices were determined. In addition, we present a comparative study with two nanomaterials regarding their behavior for the selective detection of Hg2+ in water. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the polymer matrices influence the nanomaterials' selectivity to mercury. As the AuNCs fluorescence incorporated in both matrices is quenched by Hg2+, the materials can be used to sense sensitive