Skip to main content
Log in

PVDF-triggered multicolor fluorine-doped graphene quantum dots for water detection and anti-counterfeiting

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Microchimica Acta Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Fluorescent fluorine-doped graphene quantum dots (F-GQDs) have been synthesized via the hydrothermal method using long-chain polymer polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) as the precursor. Due to the unique molecular structure of PVDF, a possible synthesis process of F-GQDs has been put forward. F-GQDs have adjustable emission wavelength by simply adjusting the concentration of the solution. As the concentration increases, the emission wavelength of F-GQDs gradually red shifts from 455 nm (blue) to 551 nm (yellow-green). In addition, F-GQDs also exhibit a sensitive fluorescence response to water content in organic solvents, and the ultralow detections limit are 0.056% in ethanol and 0.124% in DMF. Besides, due to strong UV absorption capacity, a photothermal film is fabricated by embedding F-GQDs in PDMS. The temperature of F-GQDs/PDMS polymer film can reach 33.4 oC under simulated sunlight, while the maximum temperature of blank PDMS film only reach 29.4 oC. Based on this phenomenon, a new type of anti-counterfeiting device is designed by combining F-GQDs/PDMS film with temperature change ink.

Graphical abstract

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Scheme 1.
Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 5.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Zhang X, Yang H, Wan Z, Ting S, Zhang X, Zhuang J, Lei B, Liu Y, Hu C (2020) Self-quenching-resistant red emissive carbon dots with high stability for warm white light-emitting diodes with a high color rendering index. Adv Optical Mater 8:2000251

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Datta KKR, Qi G, Zboril R, Giannelis EP (2016) Yellow emitting carbon dots with superior colloidal, thermal, and photochemical stabilities. J Mater Chem C 4:9798–9803

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Guo H, Wen S, Li W, Li M, Liang W, Chang Q, Zhang J, Lai J, Vajtai R, Ajayan PM, Wu M (2012) A universal strategy to separate hydrophilic hybrid-light carbon quantum dots using pure water as eluent. Appl Mater Today 18:100528

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Wei X, Li L, Liu J, Yu L, Li H, Cheng F, Yi X, He J, Li B (2019) Green synthesis of fluorescent carbon dots from gynostemma for bioimaging and antioxidant in zebrafish. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 11:9832–9840

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Tian P, Tang L, Teng KS, Lau SP (2018) Graphene quantum dots from chemistry to applications. Mater Today Chem 10:221–258

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Bai J, Ma Y, Yuan G, Xu C, Mei J, Lu Z, Ren L (2019) Solvent-controlled and solvent-dependent strategies for the synthesis of multicolor carbon dots for pH sensing and cell imaging. J Mater Chem C 7:9709–9718

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Kalytchuk S, ZdraŽil L, Scheibe M, Zbořil R (2020) Purple-emissive carbon dots enhance sensitivity of Si photodetectors to ultraviolet range. Nanoscale 12:8379–8384

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Liu S, Liu R, Xing X, Yang C, Xu Y, Wu D (2016) Highly photoluminescent nitrogen-rich carbon dots from melamine and citric acid for the selective detection of iron(iii) ion. RSC Adv 6:31884–31888

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Huang T, Yang S, He P, Sun J, Zhang S, Li D, Meng Y, Zhou J, Tang H, Liang J, Ding G, Xie X (2018) Phase-separation-induced PVDF/graphene coating on fabrics toward flexible piezoelectric sensors. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 10:30732–30740

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Lu L (2020) Wenqing Ding, Jingquan Liu, Bin Yang, Flexible PVDF based piezoelectric nanogenerators. Nano Energy 78:105251

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Wang X, Qiao B, Tan S, Zhu W, Zhang Z (2020) Tuning ferroelectric phase transition of PVDF by uniaxially stretching crosslinked PVDF films with CFCH bonds. J Mater Chem C 8:11426–11440

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Li C, Chen X, Luo J, Wang F, Liu G, Zhu H, Guo Y (2021) PVDF grafted Gallic acid to enhance the hydrophilicity and antibacterial properties of PVDF composite membrane. Sep Purif Technol 259:118127

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Zhang MY, Li MX, Chang Z, Wang YF, Gao J, Zhu YS, Wu YP, Huang W (2017) A sandwich PVDF/HEC/PVDF gel polymer electrolyte for lithium ion battery. Electrochim Acta 245:752–759

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Inderherbergh J (1991) Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) appearance, general Properties and processing. Ferroelectrics 115:295–302

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Miao X, Yan X, Dan Q, Li D, Tao FF, Sun Z (2017) Red emissive sulfur, nitrogen codoped carbon dots and their application in ion detection and theraonostics. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 9:18549–18556

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Guo Y, Zhao W (2019) Nanomaterials for luminescent detection of water and humidity. Analyst 144:388–395

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Wei J, Li H, Yuan Y, Sun C, Hao D, Guo Z, Wang R (2018) A sensitive fluorescent sensor for the detection of trace water in organic solvents based on carbon quantum dots with yellow fluorescence. RSC Adv 8:37028–37034

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Kang E, Park HR, Yoon J, Yu H-Y, Chang S-K, Kim B, Choi K, Ahn S (2018) A simple method to determine the water content in organic solvents using the 1H NMR chemical shifts differences between water and solvent. Microchem J 138:395–400

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Jung HS, Verwilst P, Kim WY, Kim JS (2016) Fluorescent and colorimetric sensors for the detection of humidity or water content. Chem Soc Rev 45:1242–1256

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Qi H, JianwenLiu YD, Gao S, Mäder E (2014) Cellulose fibres with carbon nanotube networks for water sensing. J Mater Chem A 2:5541–5547

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Zhu P, Tan K, Chen Q, Xiong J, Gao L (2019) Origins of efficient multiemission luminescence in carbon dots. Chem Mater 31:4732–4742

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Bai Y, Zhang B, Lu C, Lin Z, Zhang X, Ge D, Shi W, Sun Y (2018) Facile one-pot synthesis of polydopamine carbon dots for photothermal therapy. Nanoscale Res Lett 287:13

    Google Scholar 

  23. Li M, Yao W, Liu J, Tian Q, Liu L, Ding J, Xue Q, Lu Q, Wu W (2017) Facile synthesis and screen printing of dual-mode luminescent NaYF4:Er,Yb (Tm)/carbon dots for anti-counterfeiting applications. J Mater Chem C 5:6512–6520

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Kalytchuk S, Yu W, Poláková K, Zbořil R (2018) Carbon dot fluorescence-lifetime-encoded anti-counterfeiting. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 10:29902–29908

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Yang H, Liu Y, Guo Z, Lei B, Zhuang J, Zhang X, Liu Z, Hu C (2019) Hydrophobic carbon dots with blue dispersed emission and red aggregation-induced emission. Nat Commun 1789:10

    Google Scholar 

  26. Sun Y, Liu S, Sun L, Wu S, Hu G, Pang X, Smith AT, Hu C, Zeng S, Wang W, Liu Y, Zheng M (2020) Ultralong lifetime and efficient room temperature phosphorescent carbon dots through multi-confinement structure design. Nat Commun 5591:11

    Google Scholar 

  27. Zhicheng J (2016) Shuai Zhang, Zheng Xing, Quanchao Zhuang, Yinghuai Qiang, Yitai Qian, Direct synthesis of few-layer F-Doped graphene foam and its lithium/potassium storage properties. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 8:20682–20690

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Karlický F, Datta KKR, Otyepka M, Zbořil R (2013) Halogenated graphenes: rapidly growing family of graphene derivatives. ACS Nano 7:6434–6464

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Kwon S, Ko J-H, Jeon K-J, Kim Y-H, Park JY (2012) Enhanced nanoscale friction on fluorinated graphene. Nano Lett 12:6043–6048

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Wu S, Li W, Sun Y, Zhang X, Zhuang J, Hu H, Lei B, Hu C, Liu Y (2019) Synthesis of dual-emissive carbon dots with a unique solvatochromism phenomenon. J Colloid Interface Sci 555:607–614

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Moniruzzaman M, Kim J (2019) N-doped carbon dots with tunable emission for multifaceted application: solvatochromism, moisture sensing, pH sensing, and solid state multicolor lighting. Sensor Actuat B-Chem 295:12–21

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Xing X, Huang L, Zhao S, Xiao J, Lan M (2020) S,N-Doped carbon dots for tetracyclines sensing with a fluorometric spectral response. Microchem J 157:105065

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Yu F, Li J-L, Li W-L, Li M-L, Chi Q-G, Zhang T-D, Fei W-D (2019) Effect of BaTiO3 nanowire distribution on the dielectric and energy storage performance of double-layer PVDF-based composites. Compos Part A-Appl S 125:105524

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Roy S, Thakur P, Hoque NA, Bagchi B, Das S (2016) Enhanced electroactive β-phase nucleation and dielectric properties of PVDF-HFP thin films influenced by montmorillonite and Ni(OH)2 nanoparticle modified montmorillonite. RSC Adv 6:21881–21894

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Sim Y, Kim SJ, Janani G, Chae Y, Surendran S, Kim H, Yoo S, Seok DC, Jung YH, Jeon C, Moon J, Sim U (2020) The synergistic effect of nitrogen and fluorine co-doping in graphene quantum dot catalysts for full water splitting and supercapacitor. Appl Surf Sci 507:145157

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Jiang L, Ding H, Lu S, Geng T, Xiao G, Zou B, Bi H (2020) Photoactivated fluorescence enhancement in F, N-Doped carbon dots with piezochromic behavior. Angew Chem Int Edit 132:10072–10077

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Zuo G, Xie A, Li J, Ting S, Pan X, Dong W (2017) Large emission red-shift of carbon dots by fluorine doping and their applications for red cell imaging and sensitive intracellular Ag+ detection. J Phys Chem C 121:26558–26565

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Long P, Feng Y, Yu L, Cao C, Li S, An H, Qin C, Han J, Feng W (2017) Solid-state fluorescence of fluorine-modified carbon nanodots aggregates triggered by polyethylene glycol. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 9:37981–37990

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Wang B, Yu J, Sui L, Zhu S, Tang Z, Yang B, Lu S (2020) Rational design of multi-color emissive carbon dots in a single reaction system by hydrothermal. Adv Sci 8:2001453

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Long P, Feng Y, Cao C, Yu L, Han J, Li S, Peng C, Li Z, Feng W (2018) Self-protective room-temperature phosphorescence of fluorine and nitrogen codoped carbon dots. Adv Funct Mater 28:1800791

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Dong S, Ban R, Zhang P-H, Wu G-H, Zhang J-R, Zhu J-J (2013) Hair fiber as a precursor for synthesizing of sulfur- and nitrogen-co-doped carbon dots with tunable luminescence properties. Carbon 64:424–434

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Zhang Y, Zhuo P, Yin H, Fan Y, Zhang J, Liu X, Chen Z (2019) Solid-state fluorescent carbon dots with aggregation-induced yellow emission for white light-emitting diodes with high luminous efficiencies. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 11:24395–24403

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Yeh T-F, Huang W-L, Chung C-J, Chiang I-T, Chen L-C, Chang H-Y, Wu-Chou S, Cheng C, Chen S-J, Teng H (2016) Elucidating quantum confinement in graphene oxide dots based on excitation-wavelength-independent photoluminescence. J Phys Chem Lett 7:2087–2092

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Li Y, Lin H, Luo C, Wang Y, Jiang C, Qi R, Huang R, Travas-sejdic J, Peng H (2017) Aggregation induced red shift emission of phosphorus doped carbon dots. RSC Adv 7:32225–32228

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Wang X, Xu X-C, Yang M, Jiang P, Zhao J, Jiang F-L, Liu Y (2019) Concentration-tuned multicolor carbon dots: microwave-assisted synthesis, characterization, mechanism and applications. New J Chem 43:8950–8957

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Pang S, Liu S (2020) Dual-emission carbon dots for ratiometric detection of Fe3+ ions and acid phosphatase. Anal Chim Acta 1105:155–161

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Geng B, Wang X, Li P, Shen W, Qin H, Fang F, Yin L, Shen L, Pan D (2019) Multifunctional carbon dots for trace water detection, white LEDs, and bioimaging. Chem Select 4:14162–14168

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Lee HJ, Jana J, Ngo Y-LT, Wang LL, Chung JS, Hur SH (2019) The effect of solvent polarity on emission properties of carbon dots and their uses in colorimetric sensors for water and humidity. Mater Res Bull 119:110564

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Sciortino A, Marino E, van Dam B, Schall P, Cannas M, Messina F (2016) Solvatochromism unravels the emission mechanism of carbon nanodots. J Phys Chem Lett 7:3419–3423

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Pawar S, Togiti UK, Bhattacharya A, Nag A (2019) Functionalized chitosan-carbon dots: a fluorescent probe for detecting trace amount of water in organic solvents. ACS Omega 4:11301–11311

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  51. Huang J, Hu Y, Bai Y, He Y, Zhu J (2020) Novel solar membrane distillation enabled by a PDMS/CNT/PVDF membrane with localized heating. Desalination 489:114529

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This work was supported by projects from National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant (Nos. 11704204, 61604084, and 51802337), the State Key Laboratory of ASIC & System (Grant No. 2020KF007), and K. C. Wong Magna Fund in Ningbo University. The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Da Chen or Qinglei Guo.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing of interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supporting Information

Electronic Supplementary Information (ESI) available: [details of any supplementary information available should be included here]. Figures (Figs. S1-S13) and Video S1. See DOI:

ESM 1

(DOCX 5153 kb)

(MOV 259432 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, C., Chen, D., Tang, S. et al. PVDF-triggered multicolor fluorine-doped graphene quantum dots for water detection and anti-counterfeiting. Microchim Acta 189, 6 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-021-05108-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-021-05108-1

Keywords

Navigation