Carbon nanopowder directed synthesis of carbon dots for sensing multiple targets

Abstract

Carbon nanopowder usually serves as the precursor to prepare the ultra-compact probes by the surface passivation, however, synthesizing the fluorescent sensors based on this type of nanomaterial remains challenging. Herein, Carbon nanopowder has been originally employed for synthesizing the multi-function carbon dots through a one-step hydrothermal treatment method. Importantly, the current CDs can effectively function as a nanoscale thermometer on the basis of their temperature-induced fluorescence enhancement, which allows a wide linear range from 25 ℃ to 95 ℃. In addition, the CDs yield a response towards nickel (II) by their specific fluorescence quenching, and thus achieves a detection range from 80 to 6000 μM. Again, the fluorescent color of the CDs turned green from blue while doxycycline was introduced, and the visual evaluation of doxycycline within a range from 10 to 1000 μM has been obtained, thereby providing an innovative way of detecting doxycycline. On the whole, the proposed CDs exhibit the multi-function of sensing three targets (temperature, Ni2+ and doxycycline) by virtue of three different routes.