Preparation of heteroatom doped poly(o-phenylenediamine) fluorescent nanospheres: Tunable fluorescent spectrum and sensing performance

Tunable fluorescent nanomaterials are of great significance. In this paper, the poly(o-phenylenediamine) (PoPD) nanospheres were synthesized via chemical oxidation polymerization of o-phenylenediamine (oPD) monomers by (NH ₄)₂S₂O₈ (APS) at room temperature. It is interesting that when this fluorescent nanosphere was doped by F, S and Se via a simple hydrothermal progress, the fluorescence spectrum remarkably changed. The emission peak of F-doped and S-doped PoPD nanosphere was at 411 nm and 530 nm, the spectrum blue shift can be attributed to the electron-withdrawing effect of F and S. On the other side, the emission peak of Se-doped PoPD nanospheres were at 594 nm and can be attributed to the electronic donor effect of Se. These nanomaterials can be used as ultra-sensitive fluorescent detection system (ppb level) for Cu²⁺, Ca²⁺, Hg²⁺ and H₂O₂. The tunable spectrum and sensing performance of this system is interesting and significant.