Carbon dots with concentration-tunable multicolored photoluminescence for simultaneous detection of Fe3+ and Cu2+ ions

We presented multicolored emission carbon dots using for simultaneous detection of Fe3+ and Cu2+ ions through assigning a different colored emission carbon dot to a different metal ion. Carbon dots were prepared by a facile hydrothermal treatment of the mixed solution of m-phenylenediamine, ethanol and ammonia. Their photoluminescence (PL) gradually evolved three strongest peaks with concentration reduction, and these strongest PL peaks exhibited different response patterns for Fe3+ and Cu2+ with high selectivity and sensitivity. Accordingly, the concentration-modulated multicolor carbon dots could be used to multimodal sensing. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.