Molecularly imprinted polymers-captivity ZnO nanorods for sensitive and selective detecting environmental pollutant.

To develop the semiconductor of ZnO nanomaterials as the fluorescence sensor without leakage toxicity. Here, a molecularly imprinted polymer captivity ZnO nanorods (NRs) (MIPs-captivity ZnO NRs) was fabricated by precipitation polymerization. Such traditional technology was not only achieved the specific recognition for direct fluorescent quantification of the target tetracycline (TC) through fluorescence quenching, but also formed the shield to reduce the toxic effects of ZnO towards organisms. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the MIPs-captivity ZnO NRs were effectively applied to the direct fluorescence quantification of TC with excellent stability. Moreover, the practical analytical performance of the MIPs-captivity ZnO NRs was assayed by appraising the detection effects of TC in water sample from the Yangtze River with satisfactory results. A MIPs-captivity ZnO fluorescent sensor was prepared for the sensitive and selective detecting TC with excellent stability in environmental water samples. Unlabelled Image • A semiconductor ZnO nanorods (NRs) was captivated with molecularly imprinted polymer (MIPs) by precipitation polymerization. • The MIPs-captivity ZnO NRs showed the selective recognition and sensitive detection to tetracycline with excellent stability. • The MIPs-captivity ZnO NRs can be applied to assay practical environmental water sample with satisfactory results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]