One-pot synthesis of fluorescent mesoporous materials for detection of the presence of Be2+ ion

A fluorescent mesoporous silica solid (F-MCM-41) has been successfully prepared by one-pot hydrothermal synthesis from TEOS and 2-((3-(triethoxysily)propylimino)methyl)phenol in the presence of CTMABr surfactant, followed by removal of CTMABr in F-MCM-41 from extraction of ethanol solution at 50 °C for 5 h. The fluorescent sample was characterized with X-ray diffraction, nitrogen isotherms, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and fluorescence spectroscopy, and the obtained results show that the sample has ordered hexagonal mesoporous symmetry, uniform pore size, high BET surface area, large pore volume as well as good fluorescent properties. When this sample is used to detect Be2+ ions in water, the degree of fluorescence quenching is dependent on the concentration of Be2+ solutions ranged from 1 to 20 µg/L.