摘要： Copper, as an essential element in human body, can have adverse impact on environment and healthy individuals if it is excessive. So it is necessary to establish a rapid and effective method for detecting Cu2+. In this work, we describe a method for determination of Cu2+ based on water-soluble ZnO quantum dots (QDs) modified with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTEs). The ZnO QDs functionalized with APTEs (NH2-ZnO QDs) synthesized by a simple sol-gel method and displayed strong yellow-green fluorescence with a peak at 535 nm under 350 nm excitation. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, luminescence, and UV-visible absorption spectroscopy were used to characterize the NH2-ZnO QDs. In addition, the emission from NH2-ZnO QDs was selectively quenched upon addition of Cu2+. Therefore, this finding was used to design a fluorescent probe based on NH2-ZnO QDs to detect Cu2+ in water solution, and the linear relationships were 2-20 nM and 1-100 μM respectively, with detection limit for Cu2+ at 1.72 nM (on the basis of 3σ/slope criterion). This fluorescent probe had also been applied in real water sample to testify its availability in drinking water. Furthermore, the quenching mechanism was studied by measurements of UV-visible absorption spectra and fluorescent lifetime of ZnO QDs, which may be attributed to the aggregation induced by Cu2+ and the dynamic quenching existing energy transfer between QDs and Cu2+.