Thiourea functionalized hydrogel photonic crystal sensor for Cd2+ detection

Analytical Methods Pub Date: 2012-06-13 DOI: 10.1039/C2AY25408E

Abstract

A new hydrogel photonic crystal (HPC) sensor utilizing thiourea as the recognition group for cadmium cation detection was developed. The sensor was fabricated by infiltrating a 3D contact polystyrene photonic crystal template with precursor solution of acrylamide, 1-allyl-2-thiourea and N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide, followed by a thermal polymerization using ammonium persulfate as initiator at room temperature. The resulting HPC sensor with periodic opal structure changed its volume and Bragg diffraction wavelength in response to the difference of the Cd2+ concentration. Shifts of diffraction peak were observed by using a fiber optic spectrometer and the measurements showed a function relationship between the blue-shift and aqueous Cd2+ concentrations in the range of 0.01 mmol L?1 to 10 mmol L?1 in a pH 4 buffer solution. The functionalized thiourea groups allowed HPC to recognize the analyte Cd2+ with high specificity. The maximum blue-shift reached 47 nm responding to Cd2+ but no significant shift responding to Zn2+ and Hg2+. The HPC sensor could be used to quantitatively determine Cd2+ concentrations in complex solutions such as natural water.

Graphical abstract: Thiourea functionalized hydrogel photonic crystal sensor for Cd2+ detection
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