Phosphorus-doped carbon dots (P-CDs) from dextrose for low-concentration ferric ions sensing in water

The development of low-cost optical nanosensors for quick and selective metals detection in water is of high demand. In this study, we report on the fast and low-cost fabrication of phosphorus-doped carbon dots (P-CDs) for potential low-concentration detection of ferric ions in water. Prepared P-CDs have a narrow size distribution of 2.8 +/- 0.94 nm and excitation-dependent fluorescence emission. The maximum emission was detected at 452 nm with a quantum yield of 6.73 +/- 0.04%. Selectivity test reveals that prepared P-CDs are highly selective to ferric ions in water. We showed that P-CDs can be utilized as a fluorescent nanosensor for sensitive detection of Fe(III) ions in the range of 1-20 ppm.