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Preparation of Nitrogen-doped Carbon Dots from Coke Powder as a Fluorescent Chemosensor for Selective and Sensitive Detection of Cr (VI)

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Abstract

The nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N-CDs) were prepared by using coke powder as carbon source and one-step hydrothermal method. The N-CDs were studied as a fluorescent chemosensor for determining Cr(VI) in water. The selective, sensitive, reproducibility and stability of as-prepared N-CDs were investigated. The morphology, composition and properties of N-CDs were characterized by a series of methods. The fluorescence quenching of N-CDs by Cr(VI) was explored. The experimental results reveal that the obtained N-CDs have great hydrophilicity and strong luminescence properties, which demonstrates the successful do** of nitrogen into the CDs. The surface-active groups and emission wavelength range of CDs increase due to the electronegativity and electron donor effect of do** N atom. Furthermore, the N-CDs exhibit good photochemical properties for the detection of Cr(VI), including a wide linear range from 0.3 to 200 µM (R2=0.9935) and a low detection limit of 0.10 µM at the signal-to-noise ratio of 3 (S/N=3). Moreover, the N-CDs as a sensor was used successfully for Cr (VI) detection in real water samples with recovery rates of 99.9%–110.6%. This sensor also shows highly reproducibility and stability. The N-CDs fluorescent chemical sensor may be a potential candidate for applying in the field of other fluorescent chemical sensing, catalysis, photoelectric devices and other fields.

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Funding

Funded by the National Nature Science Foundation of China(61904130), the Open Fund of the Fujian Universities and Colleges Engineering Research Center of Modern Facility Agriculture of Fujian University (G2-KF2002), the Opening Project of Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Chemical Materials and Devices, Ministry of Education, Jianghan University (JDGD202017), the Open Fund of the Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory for New Processes of Ironmaking and Steel Making (Wuhan University of Science and Technology) of China (KF-20-5), the Fund of Hangzhou Meishi Technology Co., Ltd of China (2021420112000081), the Key Research and Development Program of Hubei Province (2020BAB084), and the Program (BG20190227001) of High-end Foreign Experts of the State of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs (SAFEA)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory for New Processes of Ironmaking and Steel making, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430081, China

    Juan Meng  (孟娟), Ling Ding  (丁玲), Chuang Zhou, Rui Jiang, Qingtian Zhang, Zhengzai Cheng, Mario Gauthier, Ya Hu & Lin Wu  (伍林)

  2. Fujian Universities and Colleges Engineering Research Center of Modern Facility Agriculture of Fujian University, Fujian Polytechnic Normal University, Fuqing, 350300, China

    Shiqian Li

  3. Chemistry Department, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada

    Mario Gauthier

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  1. Juan Meng  (孟娟)
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  2. Shiqian Li
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  3. Ling Ding  (丁玲)
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  9. Ya Hu
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  10. Lin Wu  (伍林)
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Correspondence to Ling Ding  (丁玲) or Lin Wu  (伍林).

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Meng, J., Li, S., Ding, L. et al. Preparation of Nitrogen-doped Carbon Dots from Coke Powder as a Fluorescent Chemosensor for Selective and Sensitive Detection of Cr (VI). J. Wuhan Univ. Technol.-Mat. Sci. Edit. 37, 1096–1104 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11595-022-2639-3

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