SpringerLink
Log in

Mercury (Hg2+) Detection in Aqueous Media, Photocatalyst, and Antibacterial Applications of CdTe/ZnS Quantum Dots

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Fluorescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

A Correction to this article was published on 25 August 2022

This article has been updated

Abstract

In the present work, CdTe/ZnS high luminescence quantum dots (QDs) were synthesized by a facile, fast, one-pot, and room temperature photochemical method. Synthesized QDs were characterized by different structural and optical analyses such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Raman, photoluminescence (PL) and UV–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopies. The results confirmed the successful growth of the ZnS shell and formation of CdTe/ZnS core/shell structure. CdTe/ZnS prepared QDs indicated a PL quantum yield of about 51%. These high luminescence QDs were used for detection of Hg2+ ions in aqueous media, as catalyst for photodegradation of different organic dyes, and as antibacterial material for the inhibition of bacterial growth. PL intensity of the CdTe/ZnS QDs was completely quenched after addition of 1 m molar Hg2+in to the media. Photocatalyst activity of CdTe/ZnS QDs was studied by rhodamine b, methylene blue, and methylene orange as organic dyes under both the sun and UV illuminations, and results showed that CdTe/ZnS QDs had the best photocatalyst activity for methylene blue degradation under UV irradiation and radical scavenger results indicated that electrons have a main role in photodegradation of methylene blue dye by CdTe/ZnS QDs under UV illumination. Antibacterial effects of CdTe/ZnS QDs evaluated by Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) methods against two strains of bacteria. The results of the antibacterial test showed that CdTe/ZnS could inhibit bacterial growth in Bacillus cereus (Gram-positive) and Escherichia coli (Gram-negative G) bacteria.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price includes VAT (Germany)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability

All data of this paper are available and included in the manuscript.

Change history

References

  1. Molaei M, Marandi M, Saievar-Iranizad E, Taghavinia N, Liu B, Sun HD, Sun XW (2012) Near-white emitting QD-LED based on hydrophilic CdS nanocrystals. J Lumin 132:467–473

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Samadpour M, Irajizad A, Taghavinia N, Molaei M (2011) A new structure to increase the photostability of CdTe quantum dot sensitized solar cells. J Phys D: Appl Phys 44:45103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Huang L, Ye Z, Yang L, Li J, Qin H, Peng X (2021) Synthesis of Colloidal Quantum Dots with an Ultranarrow Photoluminescence Peak. Chem Mater 33:1799–1810

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Qiu Z, Jian Shu Yu, He ZL, Zhang K, Lv S, Tang D (2017) CdTe/CdSe quantum dot-based fluorescent aptasensor with hemin/G-quadruplex DNzyme for sensitive detection of lysozyme using rolling circle amplification and strand hybridization. Biosens Bioelectron 87:18–24

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Ncapayi V, Parani S, Songca SP, Kodama T, Oluwafemi OS (2017) Green synthesis of MPA–capped CdTe/CdSe quantum dots at different pH and its effect on the cell viability of fibroblast histiocytoma cells. Mater Lett 209:299–302

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Molaei M, Farahmandzadeh F, Mousavi TS, Karimipour M (2021) Photochemical synthesis, investigation of optical properties and photocatalytic activity of CdTe/CdSe core/shell quantum dots. Mater Technol 1-7

  7. Hien NT, Chi TTK, Vinh ND, Van HT, Thanh LD, Do PV, Tuyen VP, Ca NX (2020) Synthesis, characterization and the photoinduced electron-transfer energetics of CdTe/CdSe type-II core/shell quantum dots. J Lumin 217:116822

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Bhand GR, Chaure NB (2017) Synthesis of CdTe, CdSe and CdTe/CdSe core/shell QDs from wet chemical colloidal method. Mater Sci Semiconductor Process 68:279–287

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Radovanovic PV, Norberg NS, McNally KE, Gamelin DR (2002) Colloidal transition-metal-doped ZnO quantum dots. J Am Chem Soc 124:15192–15193

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. He Y, Hao-Ting Lu, Sai L-M, Yuan-Yuan Su, Mei Hu, Fan C-H, Huang W, Wang L-H (2008) Microwave synthesis of water-dispersed CdTe/CdS/ZnS core-shell-shell quantum dots with excellent photostability and biocompatibility. Adv Mater 20:3416–3421

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Labeb M, Sakr A-H, Soliman M, Abdel-Fattah TM, Ebrahim S (2018) Effect of cap** agent on selectivity and sensitivity of CdTe quantum dots optical sensor for detection of mercury ions. Opt Mater 79:331–335

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Fang T, Ma K, Ma L, Bai J, Li X, Song H, Guo H (2012) 3-Mercaptobutyric acid as an effective cap** agent for highly luminescent CdTe quantum dots: New insight into the selection of mercapto acids. J Phys Chem C 116:12346–12352

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Dehghan F, Molaei M, Amirian F, Karimipour M, Bahador AR (2018) Improvement of the optical and photocatalytic properties of ZnSe QDs by growth of ZnS shell using a new approach." Mater. Chem Phys 206:76–84

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Abbasi S, Molaei M, Karimipour M (2017) CdSe and CdSe/CdS core–shell QDs: New approach for synthesis, investigating optical properties and application in pollutant degradation. J Lumin 32:1137–1144

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Moulick A, Blazkova I, Milosavljevic V, Fohlerova Z, Hubalek J, Kopel P, Vaculovicova M, Adam V, Kizek R (2015) Application of CdTe/ZnSe quantum dots in in vitro imaging of chicken tissue and embryo. J Photochem Photobiol 91:417–423

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Moulick A, Milosavljevic V, Vlachova J, Podgajny R, Hynek D, Kopel P, Adam V (2017) Using CdTe/ZnSe core/shell quantum dots to detect DNA and damage to DNA. Int J Nanomed 12:1277

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Farahmandzadeh F, Molaei M, Karimipour M, Shamsi AR (2020) Highly luminescence CdTe/ZnSe core–shell QDs; synthesis by a simple low temperature approach. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 31:12382–12388

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Fu T, Qin H-Y, Hua-Jun Hu, Hong Z, He S (2010) Aqueous synthesis and fluorescence-imaging application of CdTe/ZnSe core/shell quantum dots with high stability and low cytotoxicity. J nanosci Nanotechnol 10:1741–1746

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Li Y, Wang W, Zhao D, Chen P, Hongwu Du, Wen Y, Zhang X (2015) Water-soluble fluorescent CdTe/ZnSe Core/Shell Quantum Dot: aqueous phase synthesis and cytotoxicity assays. J nanosci Nanotechnol 15:4648–5465

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. He Y, Hao-Ting Lu, Sai L-M, Yuan-Yuan Su, Mei Hu, Fan C-H, Huang W, Wang L-H (2008) Microwave synthesis of water-dispersed CdTe/CdS/ZnS core-shell-shell quantum dots with excellent photostability and biocompatibility. Adv Mater 20:3416–3421

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Farahmandzadeh F, Molaei M, Karimipour M (2021) Ultrafast synthesis of CdTe/ZnSe semiconductor QDs by microwave method and instigation of structural, optical, and photocatalytic properties of CdTe/ZnSe QDs. J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron 33:95–104

    Google Scholar 

  22. Talapin DV, Mekis I, Götzinger S, Kornowski A, Benson O, Weller H (2004) CdSe/CdS/ZnS and CdSe/ZnSe/ZnS Core− Shell− Shell Nanocrystals. J Phys Chem B 108:18826–18831

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Wang X, Jiahao Yu, Chen R (2018) Optical characteristics of ZnS passivated CdSe/CdS quantum dots for high photostability and lasing. Sci rep 8:1–7

    Google Scholar 

  24. Li Z, Dong C, Tang L, Zhu X, Chen H, Ren J (2011) Aqueous synthesis of CdTe/CdS/ZnS quantum dots and their optical and chemical properties. J Lumin 26:439–448

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Wei F, Lu X, Wu Y, Cai Z, Liu L, Zhou P, Hu Q (2013) Synthesis of highly luminescent CdTe/CdS/ZnS quantum dots by a one-pot cap** method. J Chem eng 226:416–422

  26. Kale S, Kale A, Gholap H, Rana A, Desai R, Banpurkar A, Ogale S, Shastry P (2012) Quantum dot bio-conjugate: as a western blot probe for highly sensitive detection of cellular proteins. J Nanopa Res 14:1–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Zhou B, Yang F, Zhang X, Cheng W, Luo W, Wang L, Jiang W (2016) One-pot aqueous phase synthesis of CdTe and CdTe/ZnS core/Shell quantum dots. J nanosci nanotechno 16:5755–5760

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Mohammadi M, Roknabadi MR, Behdani M, Kompany A (2019) Enhancement of visible and UV light photocatalytic activity of rGO-TiO2 nanocomposites: The effect of TiO2/Graphene oxide weight ratio. Ceram Int 45:12625–12634

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Nguyen DCT, Cho KY, Oh WC (2017) Synthesis of frost-like CuO combined graaphene-TiO2 by self-assembly method and its high photocatalytic performance. Appl Surf Sci 252–261

  30. Zyoud A, Zu’bi A, Helal MH, Park D, Campet G, Hilal HS (2015) Optimizing photo-mineralization of aqueous methyl orange by nano-ZnO catalyst under simulated natural conditions. J Environ Health Sci eng 13:1–10

  31. Wang J, Su X, Gao D, Chen R, Mu Y, Zhang X, Wang L (2021) Capillary Sensors Composed of CdTe Quantum Dots for Real-Time In Situ Detection of Cu2+. ACS Appl Nano Mate 4:8990–8997

  32. Peng C-F, Zhang Y-Y, Qian Z-J, **e Z-J (2018) Fluorescence sensor based on glutathione capped CdTe QDs for detection of Cr3+ ions in vitamins. Food Sci Human Wellness 7:71–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Elfeky SA (2018) Facile Sensor for Heavy Metals Based on Thiol-Capped CdTe Quantum Dot. J Environ Anal Chem 5:2380–2391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Acha De, Nerea CE, Corres JM, Arregui FJ (2019) Fluorescent sensors for the detection of heavy metal ions in aqueous media. Sensors 19:599

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  35. Akbari M, Rahimi-Nasrabadi M, Eghbali-Arani M, Banafshe HR, Ahmadi F, Ganjali MR (2020) CdTe quantum dots prepared using herbal species and microorganisms and their anti-cancer, drug delivery and antibacterial applications; a review. Ceram Int 46:9979–9989

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Tripathi KM, Ahn HT, Chung M, Le XA, Saini D, Bhati A, Sonkar SK, Kim MI, Kim TaeYoung (2020) N, S, and P-co-doped carbon quantum dots: Intrinsic peroxidase activity in a wide pH range and its antibacterial applications. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 6:5527–5537

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Surendran P, Lakshmanan A, Sakthy Priya S, Balakrishnan K, Rameshkumar P, Kannan K, Geetha P, Hegde TA, Vinitha G (2020) Bioinspired fluorescence carbon quantum dots extracted from natural honey: efficient material for photonic and antibacterial applications. Nano-Struct Nano-Objects 24:100589

  38. Nolan EM, Lippard SJ (2008) Tools and tactics for the optical detection of mercuric ion. Chem Rev 108:3443–3480

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Zhu J, Zhao Z-J, Li J-J, Zhao J-W (2017) CdTe quantum dot-based fluorescent probes for selective detection of Hg (II): The effect of particle size. Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc 177:140–146

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Saikia D, Dutta P, Sarma NS, Adhikary NC (2016) CdTe/ZnS core/shell quantum dot-based ultrasensitive PET sensor for selective detection of Hg (II) in aqueous media. Sens Actuator B-Chem 230:149–156

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Kini S, Ganiga V, Kulkarni SD, Chidangil S, George SD (2018) Sensitive detection of mercury using the fluorescence resonance energy transfer between CdTe/CdS quantum dots and Rhodamine 6G. J Nanopa Res 20:1–13

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Molaei M, Hasheminejad H, Karimipour M (2015) Synthesizing and investigating photoluminescence properties of CdTe and CdTe@ CdS core-shell quantum dots (QDs): a new and simple microwave activated approach for growth of CdS shell around CdTe core." Elec. Mater Lett 11:7–12

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Zare H, Marandi M, Fardindoost S, Sharma VK, Yeltik A, Akhavan O, Demir HV, Taghavinia N (2015) High-efficiency CdTe/CdS core/shell nanocrystals in water enabled by photo-induced colloidal hetero-epitaxy of CdS shelling at room temperature. Nano res 8:2317–2328

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Karimipour M, Kheshabnia A, Molaei M (2016) Red luminescence of Zn/ZnO core–shell nanorods in a mixture of LTZA/Zinc acetate matrix: Study of the effects of Nitrogen bubbling, Cobalt do** and thioglycolic acid. J Lumin 178:234–240

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Patel JB, Cockerill FR, Bradford PA (2015) Performance standards for antimicrobial susceptibility testing: twenty-fifth informational supplement

  46. Nguyen DC, Tien K-Y, Won-Chun Oh (2017) Synthesis of frost-like CuO combined graphene-TiO2 by self-assembly method and its high photocatalytic performance. Appl Surface Sci 412:252–261

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Kim S-R, Ali I, Kim J-O (2019) Phenol degradation using an anodized graphene-doped TiO2 nanotube composite under visible light. Appl Surface Sci 477:71–78

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Liu Li, Yue M, **rong Lu, **shan Hu, Liang Y, Cui W (2018) The enrichment of photo-catalysis via self-assembly perylenetetracarboxylic acid diimide polymer nanostructures incorporating TiO2 nano-particles. Appl Surface Sci 456:645–656

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Talukdar S, Dutta RK (2016) A mechanistic approach for superoxide radicals and singlet oxygen mediated enhanced photocatalytic dye degradation by selenium doped ZnS nanoparticles. RSC Advances 6(2):928-936.a

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Iran National Science Foundation (INSF).

Funding

Iran National Science Foundation (INSF).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Vali-E-Asr University, Rafsanjan, Iran

    Mehdi Molaei & Farzad Farahmandzadeh

  2. Department of Biology, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran

    Roohullah Hemmati

Authors
  1. Mehdi Molaei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Farzad Farahmandzadeh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Roohullah Hemmati
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Mehdi Molaei, Farzad Farahmandzadeh, and Rohullah Hemmati. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Mehdi Molaei. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mehdi Molaei.

Ethics declarations

Ethical Approval

This work was done in the nanoscience lab of the Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Iran, this article is original, this article has been written by the stated authors who are ALL aware of its content and approve its submission. This article has not been published previously.

Consent to Participate

This article has been written by the stated authors who are ALL aware of its content and approve its submission.

Consent to Publication

This study doesn’t contain any data from an individual person.

Competing Interests

The authors declare they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

The original online version of this article was revised to correct the 3rd author name to Roohullah Hemmati.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Molaei, M., Farahmandzadeh, F. & Hemmati, R. Mercury (Hg2+) Detection in Aqueous Media, Photocatalyst, and Antibacterial Applications of CdTe/ZnS Quantum Dots. J Fluoresc 32, 2129–2137 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10895-022-03013-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10895-022-03013-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation