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One-pot synthesis of graphene quantum dots using humic acid and its application for copper (II) ion detection

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Abstract

A new carbon source, humic acid, has been used in fabricating graphene quantum dots by a facial one-pot hydrothermal reaction. The morphology of the cyan emission graphene quantum dots has been characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The result showed well-displayed crystalline with a lattice spacing of 0.286 nm. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) have demonstrated the diverse functional groups on GQDs, like carboxylic groups, which will cause significant fluorescence quenching by Cu2+ because of the strong chelating interactions. The optical properties of GQDs were characterized by photoluminescence (PL) spectra and ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy; it showed that GQDs have an excitation-dependent fluorescence behavior and a large stoke shift with maximum excitation/emission wavelength at 360/470 nm. Furthermore, GQDs showed a good photostability by the kinetic analysis of irradiation for 1500 s and a relatively high quantum yield of 20%, which could be applied in bioimaging. Besides, the selectivity study of metal ions indicates that the GQDs could be used in Cu2+ detection. The linear range is from 1 to 40 μM with the limit of detection (LOD) of 0.44 μM. Overall, this work provided a simple method to produce GQDs with low-cost raw material humic acid, which could be also used in Cu2+ monitoring in river water.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the NSF grant CHE 1709160, NSF Coorperative Agreement Award OIA-1946202 and Applied Research to Address the State’s Critical Needs Initiative program of UND A&S College Image Analysis Core Facility is supported in part by NIH grant 1P20GM113123 and P20GM103442. We also acknowledge the contribution of Miss. Shuyi He for helping to edit the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, 58202, USA

    Xiao Liu, Juan Han, David Pierce, Xu Wu & Julia Xiaojun Zhao

  2. Institute for Energy Studies, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, 58202, USA

    Xiaodong Hou

  3. Department of Physics & Astrophysics, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, 58202, USA

    Furkan Altincicek & Nuri Oncel

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  1. Xiao Liu
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Liu, X., Han, J., Hou, X. et al. One-pot synthesis of graphene quantum dots using humic acid and its application for copper (II) ion detection. J Mater Sci 56, 4991–5005 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-020-05583-6

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