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One step synthesis of ultra-high quantum yield fluorescent carbon dots for “on-off-on” detection of Hg2+ and biothiols

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Abstract

In this paper, the carbon dots (CDs) with strong blue fluorescence were synthesized through hydrothermal method, which using folic acid, ammonium citrate and ethylenediamine as precursors. The prepared CDs with a high absolute quantum yield of 81.94% and showed excellent stability in high concentration salt solution and different pH conditions. With the addition of Hg2+, the signal of CDs was selectively quenched. At the same time, the CDs-Hg2+ system could be recovered after the introduction of biothiols. Moreover, the fluorescence of CDs showed a good linear relationship with Hg2+ (1–15 µM), and the detection limit as low as 0.08 µM. In addition, the prepared CDs with low toxicity could be used to detect Hg2+ in living cells and actual water samples.

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  • 05 July 2022

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China-Union Foundation of Henan (U1704170), the Key Programs for Science and Technology Development in Henan Province (192102310300), the doctor initiated project funding of Henan Normal University (QD18083), and the Key Scientific Research Project of Henan Ministry of Education (20A610005, 21A180015).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University, 453007, Xinxiang, Henan, P. R. China

    Xiaoxiao Gao & Fengling Cui

  2. Henan Engineering Laboratory for Bioconversion Technology of Functional Microbes, College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, 453007, Xinxiang, Henan, P. R. China

    Yan Zhang

  3. Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province for Green Manufacturing of Fine Chemicals, Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Media and Reactions, Ministry of Education, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Chemistry Education, 453007, Xinxiang, Henan, P. R. China

    Fengling Cui

  4. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Henan Institute of Technology, 453000, Xinxiang, Henan, P. R. China

    Zheng Fu

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  1. Xiaoxiao Gao
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, writing-original draft preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by [Xiaoxiao Gao]. Data curation: [Zheng Fu]. Writing-review and editing: [Yan Zhang]. Supervision: [Fengling Cui]. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Fengling Cui.

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Gao, X., Zhang, Y., Fu, Z. et al. One step synthesis of ultra-high quantum yield fluorescent carbon dots for “on-off-on” detection of Hg2+ and biothiols. J Fluoresc 32, 1921–1930 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10895-022-03001-5

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