Spectrophotometric, Spectrofluorometric and Colorimetric Sensing of Ce⁴⁺ Ions Using Organic Molecules – A Review

Abstract

Cerium accumulation in the environment increases the health risk of humans due to the unavoidable usage of cerium in our day-to-day life. Therefore, developing a chemosensory scaffold for the rapid detection of cerium is necessary. With the objective of assessing and understanding the various factors involved in the sensing of Ce⁴⁺, this review consolidates all the 34 chemosensory molecules, mechanisms, techniques, matrices and discusses all the relevant parameters comprehensively. 23 out of 34 probes are directly utilizing the oxidative capability of Ce⁴⁺ for the detection and undergo color changes. Probes that are demonstrated with metal enhanced fluorescence exhibit lower detection limits. Based on the survey, we suggest that the investigation of the rigidity of “probe- Ce⁴⁺” and its impact on the emission/quenching should be considered for designing an efficient Ce⁴⁺ sensor. This is the first review report on the Ce⁴⁺ sensors and it could serve as a one-point reference source.

Keywords:

• cerium accumulation
• cerium sensing
• Ce⁴⁺ sensors
• chemosensor
• sensing mechanism

Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by University Grants Commission-Department of Atomic Energy-Consortium for Scientific Research, Kalpakkam Node, Govt. of India under Collaborative Research Schemes through sanction no. CSR-KN/CRS-81/2015-16/800. G.P. thank the UGC-DAE-CSR for a fellowship.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Scheme 1. Color of Ce⁴⁺ sensors in different buffer solution.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research, University Grants Commission, (CSR-KN/CRS-81/2015-16/800) Kalpakkam Node. Tamilnadu, India