Issue 11, 2013

Graphitic carbon quantum dots as a fluorescent sensing platform for highly efficient detection of Fe3+ ions

Abstract

Reported here is a green synthesis of graphitic carbon quantum dots (GCQDs) as a fluorescent sensing platform for the highly sensitive and selective detection of Fe3+ ions. Through the electrochemical ablation of graphite electrodes in ultrapure water, uniform GCQDs with graphitic crystallinity and oxygen containing groups on their surfaces have been successfully prepared. The absence of acid, alkali, salt and organic compounds in the starting materials effectively avoids complex purification procedures and environmental contamination, leading to a green and sustainable synthesis of GCQDs. The oxygen functional groups (e.g., hydroxyl, carboxyl) contribute to the water solubility and strong interaction with metal ions, which enable the GCQDs to serve as a fluorescent probe for the highly sensitive and selective detection of Fe3+ ions with a detection limit as low as 2 nM. The high sensitivity of our GCQDs could be attributed to the formation of complexes between Fe3+ ions and the phenolic hydroxyls of GCQDs. The fluorescence lifetime of GCQDs in the presence and absence of Fe3+ was tested by time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC), which confirmed a dynamic fluorescence quenching mechanism.

Graphical abstract: Graphitic carbon quantum dots as a fluorescent sensing platform for highly efficient detection of Fe3+ ions

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 Dec. 2012
Accepted
11 Janv. 2013
First published
11 Janv. 2013

RSC Adv., 2013,3, 3733-3738

Graphitic carbon quantum dots as a fluorescent sensing platform for highly efficient detection of Fe3+ ions

Y. Zhang, L. Wang, H. Zhang, Y. Liu, H. Wang, Z. Kang and S. Lee, RSC Adv., 2013, 3, 3733 DOI: 10.1039/C3RA23410J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements