A core–shell Fe3O4 nanoparticle–CdTe quantum dot–molecularly imprinted polymer composite for recognition and separation of 4-nonylphenol

Abstract

In this work, magnetic fluorescence molecularly imprinted microspheres were prepared for recognition and separation of 4-nonylphenol. The prepared composite was evaluated and characterized in detail by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, fluorescence microscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry, and X-ray diffraction analyses. The results showed that the composite exhibited a uniform spherical shape and a core–shell structure. Moreover, this hybrid had a saturation magnetization value of 4.79 emu g⁻¹, which provided an efficient way to separate toxic pollutants from extreme environments. And, the hybrid had the recognition ability for 4-nonylphenol by the changes of fluorescence signals, owning to the intrinsic fluorescent properties. Furthermore, the imprinting factor (IF) reached 2.37, which proved that many specific recognition sites with respect to the template were generated on the surface of MIPs and outstanding binding affinity and recognition selectivity towards 4-nonylphenol over competitive phenolic compounds.