Silver-doped CdS quantum dots incorporated into chitosan-coated cellulose as a colorimetric paper test stripe for mercury.

Silver-doped CdS quantum dots capped with mercaptoacetic acid were incorporated into a chitosan-coated filter paper to fabricate a colorimetric test stripe for mercury. Chitosan assisted in the stabilization of CdSAg QDs on cellulose and enhanced the analyte diffusion in the test stripe. Hg(II) ions were captured by mercaptoacetic acid on CdSAg, resulting in a visualized color change from yellow to deep brown. For enhanced sensitivity and quantitation with good reproducibility, the color intensity was recorded, transmitted to a smartphone camera and computed by the ImageJ software to provide a digital readout. The assay was rapid, simple, and selective for mercury as several potential interfering species provoked no signal response. The applicability of the sensing approach was demonstrated for the analysis of spiked Hg(II) ions in cosmetic cream with a detection limit of 124 μM. Graphical abstract Schematic of a colorimetric test stripe consisting of silver-doped CdS quantum dots coated withmercaptoacetic acid and embedded into a chitosan matrix on paper. It enables mercury(II) to be visuallyquantified even in complex matrices such as cosmetics.