Functionalized Ionic Microgel Sensor Array for Colorimetric Detection and Discrimination of Metal Ions

A functional ionic microgel sensor array was developed by using 1-(2-pyridinylazo)-2-naphthaleno (PAN)- and bromothymol blue (BTB)-functionalized ionic microgels, which were designed and synthesized by quaternization reaction and anion exchange reaction, respectively. The PAN microgels (PAN-MG) and BTB microgels (BTB-MG) were spherical in shape with a narrow size distribution and exhibited characteristic colors in aqueous solution in the presence of various trace-metal ions, which could be visually distinguished by the naked eye. Such microgels could be used for the colorimetric detection of various metal ions in aqueous solution at submicromolar levels, which were lower than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standard for the safety limit of metal ions in drinking water. A total of 10 species of metal ions in aqueous solution, Ba2+, Cr3+, Mn2+, Pb2+, Fe3+, Co2+, Zn2+, Ni2+ Cu2+, and Al2+, were successfully discriminated by the as-constructed microgel sensor array combined with discriminant analysis, agglomerative hierarchical clustering, and leave-one-out cross-validation analysis.