Highly Selective and Reversible Optical, Colorimetric, and Electrochemical Detection of Mercury(II) by Amphiphilic Ruthenium Complexes Anchored onto Mesoporous Oxide Films

Abstract The colorimetric, fluorimetric, and electrochemical detection of mercury ions by functionalized ruthenium sensitizers in aqueous and non‐aqueous solutions and on anchored TiO₂ films are investigated. Mercury ions coordinate reversibly to the ruthenium sensitizers, inducing a color change and increasing the phosphorescence intensity significantly. The electrochemical data of the adsorbed sensitizer on TiO₂ films show a reversible couple, owing to the percolation through electronic couplings between –NCS ligands of neighboring molecules; upon exposure to a Hg²⁺‐containing solution, the electrical signal is appreciably reduced. The detection limit for mercury(II) ions using UV‐vis spectroscopy in homogeneous aqueous solutions is estimated to be ∼ 20 ppb. The results presented herein have important implications in the development of reversible colorimetric, fluorimetric, and electrochemical on–off sensors based on nanocrystalline semiconductor films for the simple, swift, and selective detection of mercury ions in solution.