3-Aminobenzeneboronic Acid Functionalized MoS2 Quantum Dot as Fluorescent Nanoprobe for the Determination of o-Dihydroxybenzene

In this work, by functionalizing MoS2 quantum dot with 3-aminobenzeneboronic acid, a novel multifunctional quantum dot (denoted as B-MoS2 QD) was obtained and used successfully for a fluorescence nanoprobe for detecting o-dihydroxybenzene (o-DHB). Transmission electron microscopy, fluorescence spectrum, UV-vis spectrum and fluorescence lifetime were used to investigate the prepared nanoprobe. The results show that the B-MoS2 QD nanoprobe can exhibit strong fluorescence and excellent light fastness owing to the coupled effect from the MoS2 QDs and boronic acid; interestingly, the vicinal diols structure from its surface can bridge covalently with o-DHB, resulting in the fluorescence quenching of B-MoS2 QDs and selective recognition toward o-DHB. With the increasing of o-DHB concentration, the nanoprobe fluorescence would gradually decrease. By measuring the fluorescence intensity of B-MoS2 QDs, a wide linear range from 0.1 to 200.0 μM with a low detection limit of 0.025 μM was obtained for o-DHB analysis; meanwhile, this fluorescence nanoprobe possesses excellent selectivity for the selective detection of o-DHB from its analogues.