Aqueous synthesis of nontoxic Ag2Se/ZnSe quantum dots designing as fluorescence sensors for detection of Ag(I) and Cu(II) ions.

We reported the synthesis of water-soluble and nontoxic Ag(2)Se/ZnSe Quantum Dots (QDs) using for fluorescence sensors. The influences of various experimental conditions including the synthesis pH, types of ligand, feed ratios, and the refluxed time on the growth process and fluorescence of QDs were investigated in detail. Under optimal conditions, Ag(2)Se/ZnSe QDs show a single emission peak around 490 nm with the maximal photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield (QYs) of 13.7 %. As-prepared Ag(2)Se/ZnSe QDs can be used for detection of Ag(II) and Cu(II). The detection limits are 1 × 10(-6) mol/L to 5 × 10(-5) mol/L for Ag (I), and 2 × 10(-6) mol/L to 1.10 × 10(-4) mol/L for Cu(II).