Abstract
Heavy metal contamination was increasing day by day due to the discharge of waste from industries, mines, oil refineries, etc. Among them mercury is the most toxic pollutant that adversely affect the quality of environmental waters. The present study reports the preparation of CTAB functionalized MnS/PVP-Ag nanocomposites (NCs) for Hg2+ detection form aqueous samples. MnS/PVP-Ag NCs was analyzed by zeta sizer, transmission electron microscope (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX), UV-visible spectrophotometer, particle size analyzer and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The NCs average size was 36 +/- 1 nm and the surface charge was 33.54 +/- 2.5 mV. The Hg2+ ion detection was indicated by the disappearance of NCs brownish yellow colour into colourless. The probe showed excellent linearity in Hg2+ detection from 0.1 nM to 1 mu M with R-2 value of 0.96. The LOD of reported probe was determined to be 2.12 nM. The MnS/PVP-Ag NCs incorporated paper and agarose gel showed selective and sensitive Hg2+ detection. The environmental parameters (pH, temperature, salinity) influence on Hg2+ detection was investigated. The interference of competitive metal ions on Hg2+ detection was found to be negligible. In addition, the NCs showed outstanding photocatalytic activity. The NCs were also showed good antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli. Hence, the reported CTAB-MnS/ PVP-Ag NCs can be applied for Hg2+ detection, environmental remediation, water treatment, etc.