Surface molecular imprinting on CdTe quantum dots for fluorescence sensing of 4-nitrophenol

We tested a simple and economical approach to synthesize CdTe quantum dots (QDs). We then developed a MIP-capped CdTe QD fluorescent sensor by anchoring a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) layer on the surface of CdTe QDs using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane as the functional monomer and tetramethoxysilane as the cross-linker via a surface molecular imprinting process. The sensor possessed the sensitivity of CdTe QDs, the selectivity of the molecular imprinting technique, and a nearly spherical morphology. The fluorescence of the MIP-capped CdTe QDs can be efficiently quenched when the template 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) rebinds to the binding sites, as a result of the charge transfer from QDs (donor) to 4-NP (acceptor). MIP-capped CdTe QDs generated a significantly reduced fluorescence intensity within the initial 12 min of binding 4-NP. Under optimized conditions, the sensor presented a satisfactory linearity with 4-NP concentrations in the range of 1–30 μM, and the detection limit was 40 nM. The sensor also successfully detected trace amounts of 4-NP in water samples, and the recovery of 4-NP in three spiked samples ranged from 95.1% to 98.1% with relative standard deviations below 4.3%. The results provide an alternative method for the development of sensors for the rapid recognition and determination of 4-NP in water samples.