Abstract:
Functional mesoporous silica probes, MCM-TFM and SBA-TFM, have been synthesized with varying
pore sizes and having S-donor sites judiciously selected to bind soft metal centers. The soft S-donor
centers are contributed by the thiol functional groups that are introduced into the silica matrices by
functionalization with tris(4-formylphenyl)amine followed by 2-aminothiophenol. The materials rapidly
and selectively detect Hg2+ colorimetrically and the change in color profle can be perceived through
bare eyes. The probes can decontaminate the pollutant heavy metal from aqueous medium at ppb level
and the materials are recyclable and reusable for several separation cycles.
