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N, Cl-doped carbon dots for fluorescence and colorimetric dual-mode detection of water in tetrahydrofuran and development of a paper-based sensor

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Abstract

N, Cl-doped carbon dots (N, Cl-CDs) were prepared by hydrothermal method from rhodamine B (RhB) and ethylenediamine (EDA). The resulting N, Cl-CDs exhibited fascinating solvent dependence and strict excitation independence. As the polarity of the solvent increased (from tetrahydrofuran (THF) to water), the emission spectrum of N, Cl-CDs was redshifted and the fluorescence efficiency decreased, which were attributed to hydrogen bond-induced aggregation. Taking advantage of these attributes, the N, Cl-CDs were used as suitable probes for fluorescence and colorimetric dual-mode detection of water in THF. The linear relationship was 0.5–100% water with the detection limit down to 0.093%. Moreover, the sensing platform was converted into a paper-based sensor for handy, real-time, and visible humidity sensing. N, Cl-CDs/PVA films were fabricated and realized continuously tunable solid-state fluorescence, further expanding their practical application.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21874087), the Natural Science Foundation of Shanxi Province (201901D211155), and the research project supported by Shanxi Scholarship Council of China (2017 Key1). We appreciate Scientific Instrument Center of Shanxi University for us to identify samples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, and Institute of Environmental Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, 030006, China

    Jing Jia, Wenjing Lu, Sai Cui, Chuan Dong & Shaomin Shuang

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  1. Jing Jia
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  2. Wenjing Lu
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  3. Sai Cui
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  4. Chuan Dong
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  5. Shaomin Shuang
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Correspondence to Shaomin Shuang.

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Jia, J., Lu, W., Cui, S. et al. N, Cl-doped carbon dots for fluorescence and colorimetric dual-mode detection of water in tetrahydrofuran and development of a paper-based sensor. Microchim Acta 188, 324 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-021-04987-8

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