A nitrogen doped carbon dots-enhanced peroxynitrous acid chemiluminescence method for 2-naphthol detection

Abstract

A weak CL emission was initiated by peroxynitrous acid (PA) produced by the interaction of nitrite with hydrogen peroxide in sulphuric acid solution. In the presence of nitrogen doped carbon dots (NCDs), the CL intensity was enhanced significantly. The CL mechanism of the NCDs-PA system was studied using the CL spectrum, FL spectrum and the effect of radical scavengers. The NCDs-PA CL system was developed for the determination of 2-naphthol (2-NAP) based on its inhibition effect. The reduced CL intensity was proportional to the concentration of 2-NAP in the range from 0.3 to 20.0 μM and the detection limit was 48.0 nM. This method had been successfully applied to determine 2-NAP in environmental water samples with recoveries of 99.5–102.8%.