Ultrasensitive and highly specific detection of iodine ions using zirconium (IV)-enhanced oxidation

Nuclear energy has significantly promoted the development of human society. However, nuclear pollution caused by nuclear accidents can lead to significant hazards to the environment and human health. As a major radioactive product, radioactive iodine (mainly existing as I − ) detection has attracted significant attentions. In this study, zirconium(IV) is used to enhance the oxidation of environmental I − to form I 2 . Subsequently, the generated I 2 oxidizes the chemical chromogenic substrate 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine, which is used for I − detection and realizes an ultralow limit of detection (LoD) of 0.176 nM. The LoD of our method, to the best of our knowledge, is the lowest among those of the available chemical methods for I − detection. Furthermore, our detection method also shows high specificity and reliability, making it a promising technique for detecting I − in practical environments. • Zr(IV) enhances the detection of I − by boosting the generation of I 2 • Ultrasensitive detection of I − with high specificity and high reliability • The detection method is applicable in diverse environments Feng et al. report the high-sensitivity detection of I − enhanced by Zr(IV). Zr(IV) can directly and indirectly oxidize I − by promoting the generation of ⋅OH to obtain I 2 . This results in the oxidization of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine with detectable signal and ultrahigh I − detection sensitivity.