Terbium hybrid particles with spherical shape as luminescent probe for detection of Cu²⁺ and Fe³⁺ in water

A novel green emissive terbium inorganic-polymeric hybrid particle was designed and this material could detect cations in water. Polyvinyl alcohol as an amphiphilic surfactant rendered the powders dispersible in water with regular round shape (10-20μm). Interestingly, we noticed that not only Cu²⁺ (detection limit 10^-4M) but also Fe³⁺ (detection limit 10^-4M) can give rise to emission quenching to this target material in comparison with K⁺, Na⁺, Fe²⁺, Mn²⁺, Pd²⁺, Cd²⁺ and Co²⁺ (10^-3molL^-1). We regarded that the coordination interactions between ligand and metal ions resulted in these quenching processes. Additionally, it was found that the sensing material can be repeatedly used at least 5 cycles. More importantly, this novel material demonstrated higher thermal-stability in aqueous media than pure silica hybrid material. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.