Abstract
Phosphorescence shows great potential for application in bioimaging and ion detection because of its long-lived luminescence and high signal-to-noise ratio, but establishing phosphorescence emission in aqueous environments remains a challenge. Herein, we present a general design strategy that effectively promotes phosphorescence by utilising water molecules to construct hydrogen-bonded networks between carbon dots (CDs) and cyanuric acid (CA). Interestingly, water molecules not only cause no phosphorescence quenching but also greatly enhance the phosphorescence emission. This enhancement behaviour can be explained by the fact that the highly ordered bound water on the CA particle surface can construct robust bridge-like hydrogen-bonded networks between the CDs and CA, which not only effectively rigidifies the C=O bonds of the CDs but also greatly enhances the rigidity of the entire system. In addition, the CD-CA suspension exhibits a high phosphorescence lifetime (687 ms) and is successfully applied in ion detection based on its visible phosphorescence.
Highlights
Phosphorescence shows great potential for application in bioimaging and ion detection because of its long-lived luminescence and high signal-to-noise ratio, but establishing phosphorescence emission in aqueous environments remains a challenge
When the ultraviolet source was removed from the carbon dots (CDs)-cyanuric acid (CA) powder, a green afterglow was observed with the naked eye at room temperature
When we tried to enhance the phosphorescence of the CD-CA powder by adding plenty of water, we found that the phosphorescence enhancement was not linearly related to the water content
Summary
Phosphorescence shows great potential for application in bioimaging and ion detection because of its long-lived luminescence and high signal-to-noise ratio, but establishing phosphorescence emission in aqueous environments remains a challenge. The strong hydrogen-bonding structures of water in swollen polymer brushes have been reported to suppress protein adsorption, affording biocompatibility[43] Based on these conclusions, it is speculated that if we utilise bound water to construct hydrogen-bonded networks between CDs and matrices, effective phosphorescence may be achieved, even in aqueous environments. It is speculated that if we utilise bound water to construct hydrogen-bonded networks between CDs and matrices, effective phosphorescence may be achieved, even in aqueous environments The achievement of such phosphorescence emission by utilising bound water is considered to be important in biological applications, such as cell imaging and disease diagnosis, as bound water widely exists in cells and biological tissues
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