Abstract: This work describes the preparation of molecularly imprinted polymers with using ZnO quantum dots, which were used for the selective detection of diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP). Methacrylic acid, ethylen glycol dimethacrylate and 2,2'-azobis(2-methylpropionitrile), ZnO were used as functional monomer, cross-linker, initiator and optical material, respectively. Molecularly imprinted polymers were successfully synthesized, and their linear relationship between fluorescence intensity and the amount was from 0.5 to 40 μmol L-1 for DEHP. The coefficient of correlation was 0.9923 and its imprinting factor was 11.16. The results were above 97.50% and RSD below 3.86% for the detection of DEPH in actual water samples. This study would provide a novel method through molecularly imprinted polymer with highly selective and sensitive for detection DEHP.
Author keywords: Molecularly imprinted polymers, ZnO quantum dots, Fluorescence sensor, Diethylhexyl phthalate, Selective recognition