Contamination of groundwater with radioactive substances comprising actinides and lanthanides is a significant environmental hazard and thus the development of selective, sensitive, and easy-to-apply sensors for water-soluble actinide and lanthanide ions is highly sought. We constructed a new selective fluorescent sensor for UO₂²⁺, Sm³⁺, and Eu³⁺ based on a carbon dot (C-dot)–aerogel hybrid prepared through in situ carbonization of 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTA), a high-affinity heavy metal chelator. The TTA–C-dot–aerogel enabled the detection of UO₂²⁺ ions, which induced a significant red fluorescence shift, whereas Eu³⁺ and particularly Sm³⁺ ions gave rise to pronounced fluorescence quenching. Importantly, the lanthanide/actinide ion-selective TTA–C-dots could be synthesized only in situ inside the aerogel pores, indicating the crucial role of the aerogel host matrix both in enabling the formation of the C-dots and in promoting the adsorption and interactions of the lanthanide and actinide metal ions with the embedded C-dots.

中文翻译：

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噻吩酰三氟丙酮 (TTA) – 碳点/气凝胶荧光传感器，用于检测镧系元素和锕系元素离子

含有锕系元素和镧系元素的放射性物质对地下水的污染是一种严重的环境危害，因此迫切需要开发用于水溶性锕系元素和镧系元素离子的选择性、灵敏且易于应用的传感器。我们构建了一种新型选择性荧光传感器，用于检测 UO ₂ ²⁺、Sm ³⁺和 Eu ³⁺，该传感器基于碳点（C-dot）-气凝胶杂化物，该杂化物是通过 2-噻吩酰三氟丙酮（TTA）的原位碳化制备的。亲和力重金属螯合剂。TTA-C-dot-气凝胶能够检测UO ₂ ²⁺离子，其引起显着的红色荧光位移，而Eu ³⁺和特别是Sm ³⁺离子引起明显的荧光猝灭。重要的是，镧系元素/锕系离子选择性 TTA-C 点只能在气凝胶孔内原位合成，这表明气凝胶主体基质在促进碳点形成和促进吸附和吸附方面发挥着至关重要的作用。镧系和锕系金属离子与嵌入的碳点的相互作用。