Polyvinyl alcohol/polyacrylamide hydrogel-based sensor for lead (II) ion sensing by resonance Rayleigh scattering

In this research, a hydrogel based sensor was designed for detection and measurement of lead (II) ions based on resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS) using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and acrylamide (AAm) loaded by Eriochrome Black T (EBT), prepared via in-situ radical polymerization method. The results indicated that the designed sensor is highly selective and sensitive in detecting Pb2+quantitatively. The RRS intensity of the sensor is significantly increased at pH = 11. Under the optimum conditions, the linear detection range was validated from 100 μM to 500 μM. The lead ions recovery from aqueous solution was found in the range of 99% to 104%. The hydrogel/EBT sensor has a potential for sensitive and selective detection of various metal ions or metal based target molecules by changing the selective ligand of the probe in the hydrogel.