Photochemical preparation of fluorescent 2,3-diaminophenazine nanoparticles for sensitive and selective detection of Hg(II) ions

In this paper, we report on a simple, green strategy for the production of fluorescent 2,3-diaminophenazine (DAP) nanoparticles (NPs) by UV light irradiation of o-phenylenediamine (oPD) aqueous solution at room temperature for the first time. We further demonstrate the proof of concept that the DAP NPs can be used as a very effective fluorescent sensing platform for sensitive and selective detection of Hg(II) ions with a detection limit as low as 1 nM.