Visual monitoring of trace water in organic solvents based on ecofriendly b/r-CDs ratiometric fluorescence test paper

Abstract

Developing a green, non-toxic and easy to synthesize of fluorescence probe for fast and visual detecting trace water in various organic solvents was an important task. Here, a novel dual-emission fluorescence probe (b/r-CDs) was designed based on the red CDs (r-CDs) and blue CDs (b-CDs) to detect the trace water and enhance the visualization for naked-eye observation in different organic solvents. Among, the red fluorescence carbon dots (CDs) was found to have the capability to monitor trace amounts of water, which synthesized with green tea by facile ultrasonic method. Further, Such a dual-emission probe could fast monitor trace water in various organic solvents with high stability and fast response. Importantly, a synergistic mechanism of the dynamic process (b-CDs) and static quenching (r-CDs) was proved for the study of water detection. Moreover, the test paper was made for detecting trace water in different organic solvents, achieving convenient and effective detection.