Highly selective and sensitive fluorescence detection of hydroquinone using novel silicon quantum dots

Hydroquinone (HQ) is a major phenol compound pollutant derived from industrial wastewater. Its content in environmental water is closely related to the water quality. Thus, it is in great need to develop facile, sensitive and selective detection methods for HQ. In this paper, an effective and selective HQ detection probe was fabricated based on novel silicon quantum dots (SiQDs), which were synthesized by a one-step hydrothermal method. Such SiQDs exhibited good water solubility and intensely green fluorescence. Interestingly, their fluorescence can be significantly quenched upon addition of HQ, which is attributed to the electron transfer from SiQDs to the generated 1,4-benzoquinone, and the inner filter effect of SiQDs-1,4-benzoquinone complex. This SiQD probe can detect HQ in a wide concentration range from 6 to 100 μM, with a detection limit of 2.63 μM. More importantly, compared with other reported methods, this probe can eliminate the interference from catechol (CC) and resorcinol (RS), and gives new insight on the discrimination HQ from its isomers. Furthermore, this fluorescent probe was also successfully applied for the determination of HQ in real water samples with satisfactory recoveries, indicating the reliability and potential application of this fluorescent probe for monitoring HQ.