Highly Photoluminescent Molybdenum Oxide Quantum Dots: One-Pot Synthesis and Application in 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene Determination

• Published in: ACS applied materials & interfaces Vol. 8; no. 12; pp. 8184 - 8191
• Main Authors: Xiao, Sai Jin, Zhao, Xiao Jing, Hu, Ping Ping, Chu, Zhao Jun, Huang, Cheng Zhi, Zhang, Li
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 30.03.2016
• Subjects: turn-off; photoluminescent sensor; 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene; MoO x quantum dots; inner filter effect; Meisenheimer complexes; MoOx quantum dots
• ISSN: 1944-8244; 1944-8252
• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.5b11316

As a well-studied transition-metal semiconductor material, MoO x has a wider band gap than molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), and its property varies dramatically for the existence of several different allotropes and suboxide phases of molybdenum oxides (MoO x , x < 3). In this manuscript, a one-pot method possessing the advantages of one pot, easily prepared, rapid, and environmentally friendly, has been developed for facile synthesis of highly photoluminescent MoO x quantum dots (MoO x QDs), in which commercial molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) powder and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) are employed as the precursor and oxidant, respectively. The obtained MoO x QDs can be further utilized as an efficient photoluminescent probe, and a new turn-off sensor is developed for 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) determination based on the fact that the photoluminescence of MoO x QDs can be quenched by the Meisenheimer complexes formed in the strong alkali solution through the inner filter effect (IFE). Under the optimal conditions, the decreased photoluminescence of MoO x QDs shows a good linear relationship to the concentration of TNT ranging from 0.5 to 240.0 μM, and the limit of detection was 0.12 μM (3σ/k). With the present turn-off sensor, TNT in river water samples can be rapidly and selectively detected without tedious sample pretreatment processes.