Abstract
The monodisperse and water-soluble YVO4: Eu nanoparticles (NPs) with uniform size and shape were synthesized by a facile and environmentally friendly co-precipitation at room temperature with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) as surfactant and water as solvent. The morphology of the obtained YVO4: Eu NPs is sphere-like with a diameter of about 38 nm. Intense red emission from NPs is achieved under ultraviolet (UV) excitation. The intense red emission could be selectively quenched by Cu2+ ions with limit of detection (LOD) as low as 0.57 mu M in aqueous solution. The emission quenched by Cu2+ ions would be recovered when adding ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid ( EDTA), due to the strong interaction between Cu2+ ions and EDTA. These results indicate that the NPs would be a potential sensor for detecting Cu2+ ions in aqueous solution.