Praseodymium selective fluorescence recognition based on GdPO4: Tb3+ probe via energy transfer from Tb3+ to Pr3+ ions

Microchimica Acta volume 188, Article number: 64 (2021) Cite this article

Abstract

A novel strategy is proposed based on the efficient energy transfer from Tb3+ to Pr3+ for the sensitive and selective discrimination of praseodymium ions due to the matched energy levels of 5D4 (Tb3+) and 3P0 (Pr3+). The electron of Tb3+ transfers from the ground state to the excited state under the excitation of ultraviolet light and relaxes to the 5D4 level. In the presence of Pr3+ the electron has no time to return to the ground state, thus it transfers to the 3P0 level of Pr3+ resulting in the quenching of Tb3+ luminescence. In the case of GdPO4: Tb3+ nanowire, its fluorescence intensity at 545 nm linearly decreased when Pr3+ concentration ranged from 1 × 10−7 to 1 × 10−5 M, and the detection limit was 75 nM. To further investigate the sensing mechanism, CePO4: Tb3+, YPO4: Tb3+, and YBO3: Tb3+ nanoparticles were also synthesized for Pr3+ ion detection. For all materials, similar fluorescence quenching by Pr3+ ions occurred, which confirmed the efficient energy transfer from Tb3+ to Pr3+ ions.

Graphical abstract

Utilizing the matched energy levels of 5D4 (Tb3+) and 3P0 (Pr3+), for the first time, we proposed a novel strategy (taking GdPO4: Tb3+ probe as the example) based on the efficient energy transfer from Tb3+ to Pr3+ for the sensitive and selective discrimination of praseodymium ions.

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Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21705083, 21976077, and 22066019), and Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province (20202BABL203019).

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  1. Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Industrial Ceramics, College of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Pingxiang University, Pingxiang, 337055, China

    Hui-Hui Zeng, Jie Deng, Huan Peng, Kun Yu & Shu-Ping Guan

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ESM 1

Supporting Information UV-Vis spectra of GdPO4: Tb3+ (Fig. S1); Studies on the doping concentration of Tb3+ ions for GdPO4: Tb3+ synthesis (Fig. S2); Studies on temperature for GdPO4: Tb3+ synthesis (Fig. S3); Studies on time for GdPO4: Tb3+ synthesis (Fig. S4); Studies on effect of pH upon GdPO4: Tb3+ (Fig. S5); Studies on effect of salt concentration upon GdPO4: Tb3+ (Fig. S6); Effect of storage time on the fluorescence of GdPO4: Tb3+ (Fig. S7); FL spectra of CePO4: Tb3+ and YBO3: Tb3+ before and after added Pr3+ ions (Fig. S8); Optimization of GdPO4: Tb3+ concentration (Fig. S9); Reaction time study (Fig. S10); Selectivity study of GdPO4: Tb3+ to organic species (Fig. S11); Comparison of different method for Pr3+ ion detection (Table S1); Results for detection of Pr3+ ions from real water samples (Table S2). (DOCX 215 kb) (DOCX 215 kb)

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Zeng, HH., Deng, J., Peng, H. et al. Praseodymium selective fluorescence recognition based on GdPO4: Tb3+ probe via energy transfer from Tb3+ to Pr3+ ions. Microchim Acta 188, 64 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-021-04709-0

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Keywords

  • Fluorescence probe
  • Energy transfer
  • Praseodymium ion detection
  • GdPO4: Tb3+