Dopamine integrated B, N, S doped CQD nanoprobe for rapid and selective detection of fluoride ion

Development of the Colorimetric and/or Fluorescent Probes for Detecting Fluoride ions in Aqueous Solution

Fluoride ion is a strong Lewis base and one of the essential trace elements in human body. It plays a very important role in human health and ecological balance. The deficiency or excessive intake of fluoride ions will cause serious health problems, so the development of a sensitive and accurate detection method for fluoride ions is very important. The colorimetric and/or fluorescence sensing method has been a long standing attractive technique with high sensitivity and fast response. To date, most reported probes for fluoride ion are applicable only in organic solvents or organic-containing aqueous solutions. However, the probes for fluoride ion used in aqueous solution are more practically needed in view of environment protection and human health. In this paper, the materials and designing ideas of the colorimetric and/or fluorescent probes for fluoride ion based on different detection mechanisms in recent years were reviewed. Two main categories including formation of hydrogen bonds and formation of coordination covalent bonds were discussed. The latter one is further subdivided into three types, formation of B-F bond, formation of Si-F bond and formation of Mn+-F bond.

Comparative study on corrosion inhibition of N doped and N,S codoped carbon dots for carbon steel in strong acidic solution

Carbon steel is the most widely used engineering material, and its corrosion is one of the main areas of concern in many industries. The most practical approach to control this problem is to use corrosion inhibitors. Currently, because of their good water solubility, excellent chemical stability, low cost and nontoxic features, carbon dots (CDs), especially heteroatom-doped CDs, have been developed as green corrosion inhibitors, but the corrosion inhibition efficiency and underlying mechanisms of single- or dual-element doping have not yet been accurately compared and analyzed. Inspired by this, eco-friendly nitrogen-doped and nitrogen, sulfur codoped CDs (N-CDs and N,S-CDs) are prepared via a one-step hydrothermal process, and a comparative study on their inhibition performance for carbon steel corrosion in strong acidic solution is performed. The results show that both N-CDs and N,S-CDs can restrain the corrosion of carbon steel, and their inhibition efficiency increases with increasing concentration and immersion time, reaching approximately 87.9% (N-CDs) and 96.4% (N,S-CDs) at 200 ppm after 1 h of immersion. Molecular dynamics simulation indicates that the strong interaction ability between N,S-CDs and the Fe substrate leads to higher corrosion inhibition performance than the single N doping case, benefiting from the multi-anchor adsorption of N,S-CDs on carbon steel in a strong acidic solution. Therefore, the facile preparation, eco-friendliness and high corrosion inhibition performance of N,S-CDs will provide a new approach for designing highly efficient carbon dots and broadening the application of carbon dots in the corrosion field.

Carbon dots capped cerium oxide nanoparticles for highly efficient removal and sensitive detection of fluoride

Since the excess exposure to F^- may induce serious issues to human health, the effective adsorption and sensitive detection of F^- is essential. Therefore, carbon dots (CDs) capped CeO₂ (CeO₂@CDs) was synthesized via hydrothermal treatment of tannic acid and CeCl₃. Due to abundant phenolic hydroxyl are reserved and excellent hydrophilicity, CeO₂@CDs possess high F^- adsorption capacity. The partition coefficient parameters (PC) are determined to be 2.65 L/g, which is comparable with previous work. The kinetics results and adsorption isotherm are consistent with pseudo-second-order model and Freundlich model, respectively, indicating the chemisorption dominate the adsorption, mainly via the ion exchange between hydroxyl and F^-. Since phenolic hydroxyl existed on the CeO₂@CDs, synergetic effect of CDs and CeO₂ contribute to superior ROS eliminating capacity, even at acidic conditions. Moreover, due to the ROS scavenging of CeO₂ @CDs abilities can be potentiated by F^-, colorimetric detection of F^- can be realized via horseradish peroxidase as an indicator. The linear range is 0.3-2.1 mM with limit of detection is 0.13 mg/L. The current results imply that CeO₂@CDs possess potential in both efficient removal and sensitive detection of F^- related contamination issues and elucidation of development to address other anions related issues.

Optical Detection of Acetone Using "Turn-Off" Fluorescent Rice Straw Based Cellulose Carbon Dots Imprinted onto Paper Dipstick for Diabetes Monitoring

Persistent bad breath has been reported as a sign of serious diabetes health conditions. If an individual's breath has a strong odor of acetone, it may indicate high levels of ketones in the blood owing to diabetic ketoacidosis. Thus, acetone gas in the breath of patients with diabetes can be detected using the current easy-to-use fluorescent test dipstick. In another vein, rice straw waste is the most well-known solid pollutant worldwide. Thus, finding a simple technique to change rice straw into a valuable material is highly important. A straightforward and environmentally friendly approach for reprocessing rice straw as a starting material for the creation of fluorescent nitrogen-doped carbon dots (NCDs) has been established. The preparation process of NCDs was carried out via one-pot hydrothermal carbonization using NH₄OH as a passivation substance. A testing strip was developed on the basis of cellulose CD nanoparticles (NPs) immobilized onto cellulose paper assay. The NCDs demonstrated a quantum yield of 23.76%. A fluorescence wavelength was detected at 443 nm upon applying an excitation wavelength of 354 nm. NCDs demonstrated remarkable selectivity for acetone gas as their fluorescence was definitely exposed to quenching by acetone as a consequence of the inner filter effect. A linear correlation was observed across the concentration range of 0.5-150 mM. To detect and measure acetone gas, the present cellulose paper strip has a "switch off" fluorescent signal. A readout limit was accomplished for an aqueous solution of acetone as low as 0.5 mM under ambient conditions. The chromogenic fluorescence of the cellulose assay responsiveness depends on the fluorescence quenching characteristic of the cellulose carbon dots in acetone. A thin fluorescent cellulose carbon dot layer was deposited onto the surface of cellulose strips by a simple impregnation process. CDs were made using NP morphology and analyzed using infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The carbon dot distribution on the paper strip was evaluated by scanning electron microscope and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. The absorption and fluorescence spectral analyses were investigated. The paper sheets' mechanical qualities were also examined.

An Overview of Synthetic Methods and Applications of Photoluminescent Properties of Carbon Quantum Dots

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are promising carbonaceous nanomaterials fortuitously discovered in 2004. CQDs are the rising stars in the nanotechnology ensemble because of their unique properties and widespread applications in sensing, imaging, medicine, catalysis, and optoelectronics. CQDs are notable for their excellent solubility and effective luminescence, and as a result, they are also known as carbon nanolights. Many strategies are used for the efficient and economical preparation of CQDs; however, CQDs prepared from waste or green sustainable methods have greater requirements due to their safety and ease of synthesis. Sustainable chemical strategies for CQDs have been developed, emphasizing green synthetic methodologies based on "top-down" and "bottom-up" approaches. This review summarizes many such studies relevant to the development of sustainable methods for photoluminescent CQDs. Furthermore, we have emphasized recent advances in CQDs' photoluminescent applications in chemical and biological fields. Finally, a brief overview of synthetic processes utilizing the green source and their associated applications are tabulated, providing a clear understanding of the new optoelectronic materials.

Herbal medicine derived carbon dots: synthesis and applications in therapeutics, bioimaging and sensing

Since the number of raw material selections for the synthesis of carbon dots (CDs) has grown extensively, herbal medicine as a precursor receives an increasing amount of attention. Compared with other biomass precursors, CDs derived from herbal medicine (HM-CDs) have become the most recent incomer in the family of CDs. In recent ten years, a great many studies have revealed that HM-CDs tend to be good at theranostics without drug loading. However, the relevant development and research results are not systematically reviewed. Herein, the origin and history of HM-CDs are outlined, especially their functional performances in medical diagnosis and treatment. Besides, we sort out the herbal medicine precursors, and analyze the primary synthetic methods and the key characteristics. In terms of the applications of HM-CDs, medical therapeutics, ion and molecular detection, bioimaging, as well as pH sensing are summarized. Finally, we discuss the crucial challenges and future prospects.

Structure and Interface Modification of Carbon Dots for Electrochemical Energy Application

Carbon dots (CDs) as new nanomaterials have attracted much attention in recent years due to their unique characteristics. Notably, structure and interface modification (carbon core, edge, defects, and functional groups) of CDs have been considered as valid methods to regulate their properties, which contain electron transfer effect, electrochemical activity, fluorescence luminescent, and so on. Additionally, CDs with ultrasmall size, excellent dispersibility, high specific surface area, and abundant functional groups can guarantee positive and extraordinary effects in electrical energy storage and conversion. Therefore, CDs are used to couple with other materials by constructing a special interface structure to enhance their properties. Here, diverse structural and interfacial modifications of CDs with various heteroatoms and synergy effects are systematically analyzed. And not only several main syntheses of CDs-based composites (CDs/X) are summarized but also the merit and demerit of CDs/X in electrical energy storage are discussed. Finally, the applications of CDs/X in energy storage devices (supercapacitors, batteries) and electrocatalysts for practical applications are discussed. This review mainly provides a comprehensive summary and future prospect for synthesis, modification, and electrochemical applications of CDs.

Naked eye colorimetric detection of fluoride through TiO2 NPs/CQDs based detector

Fluoride (F^-) occurs naturally in a soil, air and water as commonly found element in earth crusts. Almost 200 million populations worldwide and approximately 60 million in India are facing F^- contamination problem. Therefore, development of low-cost and highly sensitive colorimetric detector for F^- ions using carbon quantum dots (CQDs) and metal salts is required. For this, CQDs were synthesized using flower waste from temples by green method and further characterized. CQDs-TiO₂ complex solution color changes from green to black on addition of F^- ions due to exchange of F^- ions with hydroxyl ions of the solution. Absorption spectrum of CQDs-TiO₂ complex solution depicts change in spectral graph on adding F^- ions with the appearance of new band at approx. 550 nm. The color spectral as a function of F^- ions concentration gave a linear response in the range of 2-8 ppm (R² = 0.9808). The color change can be observed at 2 ppm after incubation of 5 min by naked eye. Developed colorimetric detector shows high selectivity with other ions (Cl^-, Br^-, I^- and H₂PO₄^-). The F^- ion detection was done in different water samples collected from districts of Haryana using developed detector. The developed colorimetric detector allows wide range of F^- sensing for water sample even at every low concentration i.e 2 ppm.

Doped-carbon dots: Recent advances in their biosensing, bioimaging and therapy applications

As a fascinating class of fluorescent carbon dots (CDs), doped-CDs are now sparked intense research interest, particularly in the diverse fields of biomedical applications due to their unique advantages, including low toxicity, physicochemical, photostability, excellent biocompatibility, and so on. In this review, we have summarized the most recent developments in the literature regarding the employment of doped-CDs for pharmaceutical and medical applications, which are published over approximately the past five years. Accordingly, we discuss the toxicity and optical properties of these nanomaterials. Beyond the presentation of successful examples of the application of these multifunctional nanoparticles in photothermal therapy, photodynamic therapy, and antibacterial activity, we further highlight their application in the cellular labeling, dual imaging, and in vitro and in vivo bioimaging by use of fluorescent-, photoacoustic-, magnetic-, and computed tomography (CT)-imaging. The potency of doped-CDs was also described in the biosensing of ions, small molecules, and drugs in biological samples or inside the cells. Finally, the advantages, disadvantages, and common limitations of doped-CD technologies are reviewed, along with the future prospects in biomedical research. Therefore, this review provides a concise insight into the current developments and challenges in the field of doped-CDs, especially for biological and biomedical researchers.

Carbon dots as naked eye sensors

Optical sensors are always fascinating for chemists due to their selectivity, sensitivity, robustness and cost-effective nature.

Metal Ion Detection by Carbon Dots-A Review

Development of economical, sensitive, selective and robust sensors for metal ion sensing is always fascinating for a chemist because traditional routs for their detection involve complicated instrumentation and critical sample preparation procedures. A large number of metal ion detectors including carbon dots (CDs) have been reported for sensitive and selective detection of metal ions. This review comprehensively explores the use of CDs as metallic cation sensors. CDs are being fabricated from variety of carbon sources by employing various synthetic channels. CDs are proved to be efficient colorimetric and fluorimetric detectors due to surface oxygen moieties which are responsible to co-ordinate with metal ions. Doping of CDs with hetero atom such as N, S, B etc. may further enhance their activity toward metal detection. Therefore, designing of CDs having selective sensing properties with low detection limits has gained significant interest.HighlightsCDs have gained much attention as chemical sensors due to their dynamic features i.e. less toxicity, stability, solubility in various solvents, absorption in UV/Vis. region, fluorescence and tunable physico-chemical properties.These are coast effective, sensitive and selective colorimetric and fluorimetric metal ion sensors.Detection of metal ions by CDs involves different mechanisms such as complexation, aggregation, electron transfer, inner filter effect etc.LOD data is an evidence of their greater efficiency.

A review: recent advances in preparations and applications of heteroatom-doped carbon quantum dots

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are widely used in optoelectronic catalysis, biological imaging, and ion probes owing to their low toxicity, stable photoluminescence, and ease of chemical modification. However, the low fluorescence yield and monochromatic fluorescence of CQDs limit their practical applications. This review summarizes the commonly used approaches for improving the fluorescence efficiency of CQDs doped with non-metallic (heteroatom) elements. Herein, three types of heteroatom-doped CQDs have been investigated: (1) CQDs doped with a single heteroatom; (2) CQDs doped with two heteroatoms; and (3) CQDs doped with three heteroatoms. The limitations and future perspectives of doped CQDs from the viewpoint of producing CQDs for specific applications, especially for bioimaging and light emitting diodes, have also been discussed herein.

Sensitive and selective colorimetric probe for fluoride detection based on the interaction between 3-aminophenylboronic acid and dithiobis(succinimidylpropionate) modified gold nanoparticles

APBA was conjugated on DSP@AuNP to form stable APBA–DSP@AuNP, exhibiting high selectivity towards fluoride against other anions and glucose.

A new fluorescence probe comprising nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots for the selective and quantitative determination of cerium(iv)

As a novel “turn-off” fluorescent probe for Ce⁴⁺, our N-GQD sensor exhibits a rapid, sensitive, stable and selective response towards Ce⁴⁺.