Simple one step synthesis of dual-emissive heteroatom doped carbon dots for acetone sensing in commercial products and Cr (VI) reduction

A simple, sustainable and cost-effective fabrication technique for obtaining stable and multifunctional nanoprobes has been a challenging task for the scientific community. In this report, we optimized the fabrication conditions to obtain dual-emissive carbon dots (DECDs) using simple one-step synthesis. The optimization of the actual conjugation length, dopant concentration, and the amount of surface functional groups could be seen in the form of intriguing characteristics of DECDs. Apart from being highly stable under continuous UV excitation, extensive range of pH, wide temperature range and saline solution, the proposed nanoprobes revealed efficient fluorescence in the complete visible range at a certain excitation wavelength, which was found to be favorable for selective ratiometric optical sensing of acetone, Cr(VI) and Fe(III). The sensing performance of carbon dots (CDs) for acetone was additionally verified in commercial products and spiked urine samples. Although the sensitivity of the probes for Cr (VI) and Fe (III) in spiked tap water samples was found to be comparable with the available techniques, the added advantage of the label-free reduction of highly toxic Cr(VI) to relatively less toxic Cr(III), makes the proposed nanomaterial more viable and effective for contaminated/waste water treatment. The proposed scalable strategies have potential applications in water purification and the possible development of economically viable portable ketone testing kits.

Automated summary

A simple one-step synthesis method was optimized to obtain dual-emissive carbon dots (DECDs) with intriguing characteristics, showing high stability and potential for various applications.