An Innovative Metal Ions Sensitive “Test Paper” Based on Virgin Nanoporous Silicon Wafer: Highly Selective to Copper(II)

Developing an innovative “Test Paper” based on virgin nanoporous silicon (NPSi) which shows intense visible emission and excellent fluorescence stability. The visual fluorescence quenching “Test Paper” was highly selective and sensitive recognizing Cu(2+) at μmol/L level. Within the concentration range of 5 × 10(−7) ~50 × 10(−7)mol/L, the linear regression equation of I(PL) = 1226.3-13.6[C(Cu)(2+)] (R = 0.99) was established for Cu(2+) quantitative detection. And finally, Cu(2+) fluorescence quenching mechanism of NPSi prober was proposed by studying the surface chemistry change of NPSi and metal ions immersed-NPSi using XPS characterization. The results indicate that SiH(x) species obviously contribute to the PL emission of NPSi, and the introduce of oxidization state and the nonradiative recombination center are responsible for the PL quenching. These results demonstrate how virgin NPSi wafer can serve as Cu(2+) sensor. This work is of great significant to promote the development of simple instruments that could realize rapid, visible and real-time detection of various toxic metal ions.