Abstract
Here we highlight a single pot green synthetic protocol for gold nanoparticles (AuNps) using acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) drug as reducing and capping agent. These nanoparticles were characterized using UV-Vis (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) Spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The estimated average size of AuNps was 33 nm. These ASA-AuNps were employed to develop a highly selective and sensitive colorimetric sensor for Fe3+ detection. This sensor responded linearly to Fe3+ in the range of 0.3-2.1 mu mol L-1. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) of sensor was 0.051 and 0.17 mu mol L-1 respectively. The response of the developed sensor to the interfering ions like Ni2+, Hg2+, Cd2+, Cr3+, Co2+, As3+, Pb2+, Fe2+ and Zn2+ was negligible. The sensor was used successfully to detect Fe3+ in real water samples collected from various locations of the Sindh River. (c) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.