Simple and green synthesis of nitrogen-, sulfur-, and phosphorus-co-doped carbon dots with tunable luminescence properties and sensing application

A simple and green approach to prepare water-soluble, nitrogen-, sulfur-, and phosphorus-co-doped carbon dots (N/S/P-CDs) by one step hydrothermal treatment of cucumber juice is reported. The resultant N/S/P-CDs possess a uniform morphology, a size of less than 10 nm, plentiful O and N functional groups as well as a limited amount of P and S functional groups, and exhibit good luminescence stability, high resistance to photobleaching, high solubility, and excitation-dependent emission behavior. It was also found that a higher reaction temperature favors the formation of N/S/P-CDs with smaller size and longer wavelength of photoluminescence emissions. Moreover, the N/S/P-CDs can be applied as a fluorescent probe for the detection of Hg2+ ions.