Boswellia ovalifoliolata bark extract derived carbon dots for selective fluorescent sensing of Fe3+

Abstract

A facile, efficient, green synthesis of carbon dots (CDs) using Boswellia ovalifoliolata bark extract by hydrothermal-carbonization method. Synthesized CDs were characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, UV–vis absorption spectroscopy, Spectrofluorophotometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The synthesized CDs exhibit excitation dependent emission, also excellent water solubility due to the presence of hydroxyl functional groups on the surface. The maximum fluorescence emission peak observed at 460 nm for the excitation at 360 nm. The obtained CDs possess high stability in aqueous solution and exhibit strong green emission with 10.2% quantum yield. The average size of the CDs was approximately 4.16 ± 0.22 nm. The synthesized CDs shows high sensitivity and selectivity towards Fe3+ with a linear relationship up to the concentration of 500 μM with a detection limit of 0.41 μM (S/N = 3). The CDs also possess excellent free radical scavenging activity with IC50 value of 65 μg/mL. The overall results suggest that synthesized CDs from natural carbon source could be utilized for Fe3+ sensing.