Chemically Induced Fluorescence Switching of Carbon-Dots and Its Multiple Logic Gate Implementation

Investigations were carried out on the carbon-dots (C-dots) based fluorescent off - on (Fe3+ - S2O32-) and on - off (Zn2+ - PO43-) sensors for the detection of metal ions and anions. The sensor system exhibits excellent selectivity and sensitivity towards the detection of biologically important Fe3+, Zn2+ metal ions and S2O32-, PO43- anions. It was found that the functional group on the C-dots surface plays crucial role in metal ions and anions detection. Inspired by the sensing results, we demonstrate C-dots based molecular logic gates operation using metal ions and anions as the chemical input. Herein, YES, NOT, OR, XOR and IMPLICATION (IMP) logic gates were constructed based on the selection of metal ions and anions as inputs. This carbon-dots sensor can be utilized as various logic gates at the molecular level and it will show better applicability for the next generation of molecular logic gates. Their promising properties of C-dots may open up a new paradigm for establishing the chemical logic gates via fluorescent chemosensors.