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In situ 3D bacterial cellulose/nitrogen-doped graphene oxide quantum dot-based membrane fluorescent probes for aggregation-induced detection of iron ions

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Abstract

The development of a bio-based fluorescent membrane sensor for iron ions is elaborated. A three-dimensional (3D) network structure of bacterial cellulose (BC) made by layer-by-layer in situ cultivation contained nitrogen doped graphene oxide quantum dots (N-GOQDs). The obtained BC/N-GOQDs were analyzed by SEM, TEM and XPS and demonstrated that the blue emissive N-GOQDs were homogeneously distributed in the BC mats through hydrogen bonding. These materials were found to be useful for the detection of iron ions in aqueous solutions. Experimental data showed the blue-emitting BC/N-GOQDs fluorescent probes exhibited a sensitive response to Fe3+ within a favorable concentration range of 0.5–650 μM with a very good lower limit detection of 69 nM at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 (S/N = 3). Meanwhile, the BC/N-GOQDs–Fe3+ complexes has good reproducibility after treatment with EDTA. The quenching mechanism was attributed to strong coordination between surface functional groups (–NH2 and –OH) and Fe3+ which was successfully applied in real water samples.

Graphical abstract

Diagram of quenching mechanism of the BC/N-GOQDs nanocomposites towards Fe3+ ions.

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Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by National First-Class Discipline Program of Light Industry Technology and Engineering (LITE2018-21), the National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFB0309100), the 111 Project (B17021), the State Scholarship Fund from China Scholarship Council (201706790088), the Innovation Program for Graduate Education in Jiangsu Province (KYLX16_0794), the Department of Education in Anhui Province of China (2015LJRCTD001), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51803078), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (SBK2018041756), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (JUSRP11701).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Eco-Textiles, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Pengfei Lv, Huimin Zhou, Alfred Mensah, Jieyu Huang, Dawei Li, Yibing Cai & Qufu Wei

  2. Key Laboratory of Textile Fabric, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu, 241000, Anhui, People’s Republic of China

    Quan Feng

  3. State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Keyu Lu

  4. Fiber and Polymer Science Program, North Carolina State University, 2401 Research Drive, Campus Box 8301, Raleigh, NC, 27695-8301, USA

    Lucian Lucia

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  1. Pengfei Lv
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Lv, P., Zhou, H., Mensah, A. et al. In situ 3D bacterial cellulose/nitrogen-doped graphene oxide quantum dot-based membrane fluorescent probes for aggregation-induced detection of iron ions. Cellulose 26, 6073–6086 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-019-02476-z

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