Water-soluble MoS2 quantum dots are a viable fluorescent probe for hypochlorite

A method is described for the fluorometric determination of hypochlorite. It is making use of molybdenum disulfide quantum dots (MoS2 QDs) as a fluorescent probe. The QDs are prepared by hydrothermal reaction of sodium molybdate with glutathione. They possess diameters typically ranging from 1.4 to 3.8 nm, excellent stability in water, and blue photoluminescence (with excitation/emission peaks located at 315/412 nm and a quantum yield of 3.7%). The fluorescence of the QDs is statically quenched by hypochlorite, and the Stern-Volmer plot is linear. Hypochlorite can be detected in the 5-500 mu M concentration range with a 0.5 mu M detection limit. The method has been successfully applied to the determination of hypochlorite in spiked samples of tap water, lake water, and commercial disinfectants.