Issue 46, 2023

Portable and non-invasive fluorescent thin films from photocatalytically active carbon dots for selective and trace-level detection of picric acid

Abstract

Portable fluorescent (FL) sensors for on-site detection of pollutants have strong implications in the practical world. Herein, we report a simple one-pot synthesis of N, S and P-doped carbon dots (CDs) derived from C. thevetia flowers (TF-CDs), which exhibit selectivity for the sensitive detection of picric acid (PA). Further integration of this FL probe onto polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) enables the fabrication of a highly porous, thin, and flexible TF-CD@PVDF film strip via a simple phase inversion method, enabling the selective and trace-level detection of a potent explosive, picric acid (PA). The TF-CD@PVDF strip shows a limit of detection (LOD) of 244 nM for PA, whereas TF-CD itself in suspended form shows sensitivity as low as 104 nM. The findings reveal a static quenching mechanism for TF-CDs in the presence of PA. As the application of TF-CD is not restricted to sensing, its potency towards sunlight photodegradation of methyl orange (MO), an azo dye, is also investigated. TF-CDs showed fast degradation kinetics for MO under sunlight with a removal efficiency of 96.8% in about 60 min. The real sample analysis was further performed by externally spiking real water samples, validating the real-world applicability of the as-prepared TF-CDs for the sensing and decontamination of polluted water. The present study paves the way for designing portable, flexible florescent platforms for extended applications.

Graphical abstract: Portable and non-invasive fluorescent thin films from photocatalytically active carbon dots for selective and trace-level detection of picric acid

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
06 Okt 2023
Accepted
23 Okt 2023
First published
24 Okt 2023

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2023,11, 16201-16213

Portable and non-invasive fluorescent thin films from photocatalytically active carbon dots for selective and trace-level detection of picric acid

N. Mate, D. Khandelwal, K. Nabeela and S. M. Mobin, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2023, 11, 16201 DOI: 10.1039/D3TC03625A

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