Magnesium doped carbon quantum dots synthesized by mechanical ball milling and displayed Fe3+ sensing

A new method had been developed for the preparation of fluorescent Magnesium doped carbon quantum dots (Mg-CQDs) by a simple mechanical ball milling a mixture of cellulose and Mg power. The Mg-CQDs were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-vis spectra, Fluorescent emission spectra and Transmission electron microscopy. And the result showed that the prepared Mg-CQDs displayed high selective and sensitive detection of iron ions with a detection limit of 50 ppb. Moreover, the idea of mechanical ball milling provided a method of large-scale industrial production to carbon quantum dots (CQDs).