Elsevier

Microchemical Journal

Volume 159, December 2020, 105471
Microchemical Journal

A turn-off luminescent europium probe for efficient and sensitive detection of some low molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in seawater

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.microc.2020.105471Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Develop fast and reliable sensing probe to screen dissolved low molecular weight PAHs in Suez Bay.

  • Validation of new sensor was achieved through comparison with gas chromatography.

  • Eu(III)-(CCA)2 probe was displayed high sensitivity with low limit of detection.

  • Influence of some interfering ions has no significant effect on PAHs detection.

Abstract

Eu(III)-(CCA)2 complex probe was applied for the direct detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAHs naphthalene, anthracene, acenaphthene or fluorene in seawater samples were collected from Suez Bay. The low limit of detection and the quantification limit were calculated for all compounds under study. The selectivity of the probe was characterized through studying the effect of some interfering ions. The results obtained from fluorimetric method using Eu(III)-(CCA)2 probe was validated through using gas chromatography and a recovery method. The developed Eu(III)-(CCA)2 probe has the ability for detecting PAHs in rapid and straightforward procedure even in presence of interfering metal ions. The data indicated that the Eu(III)-(CCA)2 probe is suitable for direct and efficient determination of PAHs compounds from seawater.

Introduction

Several approaches and strategies have been utilized to detect and monitor polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) compounds. Some of the available traditional techniques such as HPLC with fluorescence detection [1], [2] and GC–MS [3], [4], [5] have been shown to have significant disadvantages such as complexity and expensive instrumentation and are time and solvent-consuming. In addition the complex procedures require well-trained and highly qualified staff [6], [7]. So there is need for new methods and techniques for detection and assessment of such pollutant.

The monitoring of the carcinogenic PAHs has received increasing consideration for the environmental recovery [8]. So it is extremely important to development rapid and selective method for detection these compounds.

From the main PAHs compounds are acenaphthene, anthracene naphthalene and fluorene. These PAHs compounds have high solubility due to their low molar mass and simple structures [9], so they can be found at high significant levels in water [10], [11]. Acenaphthene, anthracene, naphtalene and fluorene are listed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency US-EPA as a priority pollutant [12], [13], [14], [15].

Acenaphthene was found as waste from wood preservation and petrochemical industries [16]. The concentration of acenaphthene detected was approximately 10 ppb [17]. Anthracene is generated in motor vehicle traffic through incomplete combustion of different organic materials [18], [19], [20], [21]. While the main sources of naphthalene are petroleum refining, chemical synthesis and petrochemical wastewaters [22], [23], [24]. High naphthalene exposure may damage immune system, central nervous system and cause anemia and cancer [25]. Fluorene is commonly found in fossil fuels, crude, motor oils [26], [27].

The detection of these PAHs compounds (acenaphthene, anthracene, naphtalene and fluorine) have been performed using fluorimetric method which characterized by its high sensitivity, selectivity, reliability and short response time.

The development of lanthanide complexes as sensors can improve selectivity due to their selective binding with the analyte, this binding is monitored through the change of the emission of the hypersensitive emission bands of the lanthanide metal ions. The emission of these bands is sensitive to changes of the binding partners in the primary and even in the secondary coordination sphere than emission of organic fluorophores. This results in chemosensors that are less prone to interferences [28].

The detection of four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using Eu(III)-(CCA)2 probe have been investigated in methanol. It was noticed that acenaphthene, anthracene, naphthalene and fluorene (PAHs) have a significant effect on the intensity of hypersensitive peak of Eu(III)-(CCA)2 probe. In addition the shape of the luminescence spectra of Eu-complex remains unchanged which suggests that the interaction of Eu(III)-(CCA)2 with PAHs doesn’t change the spectral properties of probe.

Section snippets

Materials

The materials were purchased and used as analytical grade. All materials were purchased from Sigma Chemical Co. EuCl3·6H2O and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAHs: [1,2-Dihydroacenaphthylene] C12H10 (acenaphthene), C14H10 (anthracene), C13H10 (fluorene) and C10H8 (naphthalene). The ligands used are [2-Oxo-2H-chromene-3-carboxylic acid] coumarin-3-carboxylic acid C10H6O4 (CCA). The structures of the studied polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAHs and coumarin-3-carboxylic acid are shown in

Steady UV–vis, luminescence spectroscopy and stoichiometric ratio

The absorption spectrum of free ligand coumarin-3-carboxylic acid (CCA) CCCA = 1 × 10−5 mol L−1 in different solvents is studied (SI: Fig. 1). The spectral behavior of the ligand shows maximum absorption band at 291 nm in ethanol and water, 289 nm in methanol, It also exhibits a shoulder around 312 nm in methanol and ethanol, at 317 nm in water, which may be attributed to both π-π* and n-π* transitions [33], [34] respectively, with high extinction coefficient (ethanol) ε291 nm = 1 × 104 L. mol−1

Conclusion

The Fluorimetric detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons acenaphthene, anthracene, naphtalene and fluorine using luminescent Eu(III)-(CCA)2 probe is the novel method described for direct, fast and efficient detection of these compounds. The obtained results indicate that, the quenching mechanism is probably due to photoinduced electron transfer. The limits of detection and quantification were calculated based on fluorimetric methods. The selectivity of the proposed method was measured in

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Abbas M. Abbas: Formal analysis, Validation, Supervision. Zeinab M. Anwar: Visualization, Methodology, Investigation. Yosry A. Soliman: Software, Validation. Mariam M. Abdel-Hadi: Data curation. Rasha M. Kamel: Supervision, Writing - review & editing.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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