Efficient Chemiluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer on the Interface of Europium Doped Ceria for Sulfite Detection in PM2.5

Abstract Chemiluminescence (CL) was a recognized excellent analytical method for SO32-. Designing a CL sensing platform not only with selectivity but also with high sensitivity is of great significance for the SO32- detection in complex samples. Herein, a novel chemiluminescence resonance energy transfer (CRET) strategy was designed by doping europium (Eu) into CeO2 NPs. On the interface of Eu/CeO2, SO32- was oxidized to generate the high-energy intermediate SO2* and the energy released was absorbed by Eu/CeO2 nanoparticles to realize CRET. The energy donor (SO2* generated by the reaction of Eu/CeO2 nanoparticles and HSO3-) and the receptor (Eu/CeO2 nanoparticles) are assembled together which simplifies system and improve the energy efficiency. The CRET system with rapid response (1 s) and high sensitivity (0.007 μM) was successfully exploited for the selective detection of SO32- even in PM2.5 samples. The study provides a new clue to design simple CL sensors with high selectivity and high sensitivity.