Turning fluorescent silica nanoparticles for the removal and detection of 4-nitrophenol

4-Nitrophenol (4-NP) is a dangerous compound that can be found in insecticides and pesticides in agriculture. Therefore, removing and detecting this compound in water sources are essential for the ecosystem and human health. In this study, we synthesized fluorescence-incorporated mesoporous nano silica (F-NS) for the removal and detection of 4-NP. The fluorescent nanomaterial was characterized by techniques, including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, nitrogen adsorption isotherms, and scanning electron microscope. The isotherm and kinetics investigation showed that 4-NP adsorption of the nanomaterial with high capacity (up to 0.7 mg mg −1 ) was well fitted with the multilayer adsorption and the pseudo-second-order model. Furthermore, modulation of the fluorescein isothiocyanate amount on the nanomaterial allowed the detection of 4-NP at low concentrations through fluorescence quenching.