Increase of Fluorescence of Humic-Like Substances in Interaction with Cd(II): a Photoinduced Charge Transfer Approach

Described is the enhancement of fluorescence intensity due to the interaction of a humic-like substance (HLS 1%) extracted from process water (PW) and Cd(II) ions in aqueous solution. Using Canonical Polyadic/Parallel Factor Analysis (CP/PARAFAC), two main components were seen that contributed to fluorescence, the first one increased it and the second one kept it constant in both static and dynamic fluorescence studies. Two-dimensional FTIR analysis indicated that the interaction of HLS 1% and Cd(II) ions occurred in the following order of affinity with the groups: C-O bonds in polysaccharides > C-O bonds in carboxylic acid. The results obtained suggest that the increase in fluorescence intensity and lifetime suggest a photoinduced charge transfer (PCT) between Cd(II) ions and carboxylic acid groups present in HLS 1%. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].