Thy-AuNP-AgNP Hybrid Systems for Colorimetric Determination of Copper (II) Ions Using UV-Vis Spectroscopy and Smartphone-Based Detection

A colorimetric probe based on a hybrid sensing system of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), and thymine (Thy) was developed for easy and rapid detection of copper (II) ions (Cu(2+)) in solution. The underlying principle of this probe was the Cu(2+)-triggered aggregation of the nanoparticle components. Color change of the sensing solution (from red to purple) was clearly observed with naked eyes. The experimental parameters, including pH and concentration of tris buffer, thymine concentration and AgNP dilution ratios, were investigated and optimized. Once optimized, the limits of detection were found to be 1, 0.09 and 0.03 ppm for naked eyes, smartphone application and UV-vis spectrophotometer, respectively. Furthermore, determination of Cu(2+) was accomplished within 15 min under ambient conditions. For quantitative analysis, the linearity of detection was observed through ranges of 0.09–0.5 and 0.03–0.5 ppm using smartphone application and UV-vis spectrophotometer, respectively, conforming to the World Health Organization guideline for detection of copper at concentrations < 2 ppm in water. This developed hybrid colorimetric probe exhibited preferential selectivity toward Cu(2+), even when assessed in the presence of other metal ions (Al(3+), Ca(2+), Pb(2+), Mn(2+), Mg(2+), Zn(2+), Fe(3+), Ni(2+), Co(2+), Hg(2+) and Cd(2+)). The developed procedure was also successfully applied to quantification of Cu(2+) in real water samples. The recovery and relative standard deviation (RSD) values from real water sample analysis were in the ranges of 70.14–103.59 and 3.21–17.63%, respectively. Our findings demonstrated a successful development and implementation of the Thy-AuNP-AgNP hybrid sensing system for rapid, simple and portable Cu(2+) detection in water samples using a spectrophotometer or a smartphone-based device.