A novel colorimetric chemosensor based on ferene-S-conjugated silver nanoparticles for selective recognition of Fe²⁺

Ferene is the most commonly used chromogenic agent for the determination of serum iron in blood. In this work we have successfully synthesized Ferene-S-conjugated silver nanopar-ticles (Ferene-S-AgNPs) for the first time characterized by UV-visible, Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization-Time Of Flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry techniques. Particle size of the synthesized nanoparticles was determined by atomic-force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy techniques with size ranges from 10–90 nm in diameter. Ferene-S-AgNPs were explored for their chemosensing potential with various metal ions such as Sb3+, Pb2+, Ca2+, Fe2+, K+, Co2+, Ba2+, V5+, Cu+, Cd2+, Hg2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, Fe3+, Mg2+, Mn2+, Al3+, and Cr3+. Ferene-S-AgNPs were found to show selective quenching effects and slight bathochromic shifts to the surface plasmon resonance absorption band after treatment with Fe2+. Furthermore, the developed chemosensor also exhibited substantial selectivity towards Fe2+ in the presence of other competitive ions. We observed that Ferene-S-AgNPs mimic the selectivity of the parent compound of Ferene towards Fe2+. The system obeyed Beer’s law over concentration ranges of 110–190 nM. The detection limit was found to be 110 nM.