Copper(I)-driven colorimetric-fluorometric detection of triacetone triperoxide (TATP) using eco-friendly carbon dots


KOÇ K. H., ARDA A., APAK M. R.

TALANTA, cilt.301, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 301
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.talanta.2025.129275
  • Dergi Adı: TALANTA
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, BIOSIS, Chemical Abstracts Core, Chimica, Compendex
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Colorimetric, DPMD, Fenton reaction, Fluorometric, Triacetone triperoxide (TATP), Turn–off fluorescence
  • İstanbul Üniversitesi-Cerrahpaşa Adresli: Evet

Özet

Triacetone triperoxide (TATP) is a homemade potent explosive commonly used in terrorist attacks. The lack of a distinct chromophore group in its structure, unlike other explosives, poses a significant challenge for its detection. To address this issue, we propose a novel approach centered on a Cu(I)-driven Fenton-like reaction, which involves simultaneous fluorometric and colorimetric determination of TATP in the same reaction tube. The analytical system involves CuI, a precursor metal cation requiring acidic solubility, oxygen- and nitrogen-doped carbon dots (ascorbic acid-urea-CDots) (AU-CDots), the color reagent N,N-dimethyl-p-phenylenediamine (DMPD), and TATP in the same reaction tube. The hydrochloric acid required to dissolve CuI hydrolytically cleaves TATP, and the resulting hydrolysate H2O2 undergoes a Fenton-like reaction with CuI, producing CuII and hydroxyl radical (center dot OH). The resulting CuII selectively interacts with the AU-CDots, quenching fluorescence, while center dot OH interacts with DMPD, producing a colored radical cation (DMPD center dot+). Thus, TATP can be determined simultaneously by both fluorometric and colorimetric methods. The method provides a TATP detection limit (LOD) of 3.0 nmol L- 1 and 10.0 nmol L- 1 for the fluorometric and colorimetric assays, respectively. Furthermore, AU-CDots exhibit catalytic activity both in fluorometric and colorimetric measurements. In both methods, while the presence of metal cations, anions, camouflage materials, and explosive mixtures did not affect TATP recoveries (94.9 %-105.3 %), almost quantitative retrievals (97.5 %-105.2 %) were obtained from soil samples contaminated at different levels.