Abstract
High precision and rapid toxic metals detection is one of the vital requirements today to overcome the envi-ronmental problems. Here we report a rapid colorimetric method to detect Hg(II) ion with high selectivity, specificity and sensitivity using Tri-sodium citrate functionalized Ag NPs-Polyethylene glycol (PEG) nano-composites (NCs) in aqueous environmental samples and the evaluation of its photocatalytic, and antimicrobial activity. The characterization was done using UV-v is spectrophotometer, FTIR, particle size analyzer, XRD, EDS, TEM, and zeta analyzer. The effective diameter of NCs was 8 +/- 1.1 nm and the value of zeta potential was -33.13 +/- 4 mV. An excellent linear relationship was exhibited between the accelerating Hg(II) ion concentra-tions and the absorbance value at 392 nm under optimum conditions. The colour change was specific when Ag NPs-PEG NCs interacted with Hg(II) ion. The study of influence of various metal ions, pH, salinity and tem-perature was investigated. The anti-microbial property was evaluated against E. coli and B. subtilis, and it also showed good visible light driven photocatalytic activity. The study can be extensively used in various aqueous samples with high precision and accuracy as a potential applicant for Hg(II) ion detection, and it also can be used as an excellent photocatalytic and anti-microbial agent.