Thermo-responsive photoluminescent silver clusters/hydrogel nanocomposites for highly sensitive and selective detection of Cr(<scp>vi</scp>)

Stimuli-sensitive nanocomposites have received special attention because of their potential applications in various fields. In this work, we report a novel thermo-responsive photoluminescent silver clusters/hydrogel nanocomposite with red emission, as a probe for highly sensitive and selective detection of Cr(VI) in aqueous solutions. The hydrogel nanocomposites integrate the advantages of p(NIPAM-co-AAc) hydrogel submicron particles and Ag clusters: the p(NIPAM-co-AAc) hydrogel submicron particles can act as templates for Ag nanoclusters and exhibit thermo-responsive properties. In addition, Ag nanoclusters endow excellent photoluminescent properties to our nanocomposites, resulting in photoluminescent sensors. As a result, we obtained novel thermo-responsive Ag clusters/p(NIPAM-co-AAc) hydrogel nanocomposites through photoreduction process. The photoluminescence (PL) intensity of as-prepared nanocomposites exhibited a linear and reversible response from 2 to 85 &#176;C and displayed a high PL quenching for the sensitive and selective detection of Cr(VI), rather than Cr(III). The limit of detection could reach as low as 1 ppb, which indicates that it is an ideal sensor tool for environmental monitoring, laboratory detections and various other applications.