Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences Vol 21 No 6 (2017): 1316 - 1326

COPPER MODIFIED CARBON NITRIDE AS FLUORESCENCE SENSOR FOR NITRATE IONS

(Karbon Nitrida Terubah Suai Kuprum Sebagai Sensor Pendafluor Ion Nitrat)

Siti Maryam Jasman¹, Hendrik O. Lintang^2,3,4, Siew Ling Lee^{1, 2}, Leny Yuliati^2,3,4*

¹Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science

²Centre for Sustainable Nanomaterials, Ibnu Sina Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

³Ma Chung Research Center for Photosynthetic Pigments

⁴Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology

Universitas Ma Chung, Malang 65151, East Java, Indonesia

*Corresponding author: leny.yuliati@machung.ac.id

Received: 7 November 2016; Accepted: 18 September 2017

Abstract

In this study, newly developed copper modified CN composites were prepared and tested as a fluorescence sensor for detection of nitrate ions (NO₃^-). The structure and chemical properties of CN and copper modified CN composites were investigated via X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR), diffuse reflectance ultraviolet-visible (DR UV-Vis) and fluorescence spectroscopies. Three emission sites represented as C=N, C=O and C-N moieties were suggested to contribute as sensing sites in CN and copper modified CN composites. The sensing capabilities of CN and copper modified CN composites toward NO₃^-in the range of 300 to 1800 µM were determined via a quenching technique. The quenching efficiencies (K_SV) of CN and copper modified CN composites were obtained from the Stern-Volmer plot. Among three emission peaks of CN, C=N sites were found to be the most sensitive site having the strongest interaction with NO₃^-. By addition of Cu(0.5 mol%), the K_SV of CN was improved from 2.11 x 10^-4 to 5.27 x 10^-4 µM^-1. This study showed that with the addition of copper as modifier, the performance of CN can be improved and the composite can be used as potential fluorescence sensor for the detection of NO₃^-.

Keywords: copper modified carbon nitride, fluorescence sensor, nitrate ion

Abstrak

Dalam kajian ini, karbon nitrida terubah suai kuprum yang baru telah disediakan dan diuji sebagai sensor pendafluor untuk mengesan ion nitrat (NO₃^-). Struktur dan sifat kimia bagi CN telah disiasat melalui pembelauan sinar-X (XRD), transformasian infra-merah Fourier (FTIR), spektroskopi pantulan serakan ultralembayung-cahaya nampak (DR UV-Vis) dan spektroskopi pendafluor. Tiga tapak pelepasan diwakili sebagai moiti C=N, C=O dan C-N telah dicadangkan untuk menyumbang sebagai tapak penderiaan CN dan komposit CN terubah suai kuprum. Keupayaan penderiaan CN dan komposit CN terubah suai kuprum terhadap NO₃^- dalam lingkungan 300 hingga 1800 µM telah ditentukan melalui teknik pelindapan. Kecekapan pelindapan (K_SV) bagi CN dan komposit CN terubah suai kuprum telah diperoleh daripada plot Stern-Volmer. Di antara tiga tapak pelepasan CN, tapak C=N telah ditemui menjadi tapak yang paling sensitif dan mempunyai interaksi paling kuat dengan NO₃^-. Dengan penambahan Cu(0.5 mol%), nilai K_SV bagi CN telah bertambah baik daripada 2.11 x 10^-4 kepada 5.27 ×10^-4 µM^-1. Kajian ini menunjukkan bahawa dengan penambahan kuprum sebagai pengubahsuai, prestasi CN boleh ditingkatkan dan komposit tersebut boleh digunakan sebagai potensi sensor pendafluor untuk mengesan NO₃^-.

Kata kunci: karbon nitrida terubah suai kuprum, sensor pendafluor, ion nitrat

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