1. Academic Validation
  2. Nitrogen-Doped Durian Shell Derived Carbon Dots for Inner Filter Effect Mediated Sensing of Tetracycline and Fluorescent Ink

Nitrogen-Doped Durian Shell Derived Carbon Dots for Inner Filter Effect Mediated Sensing of Tetracycline and Fluorescent Ink

  • J Fluoresc. 2019 Jan;29(1):221-229. doi: 10.1007/s10895-018-2331-3.
Supuli Jayaweera 1 2 Ke Yin 3 Wun Jern Ng 4
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute and Interdisciplinary Graduate School, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
  • 2 Residues & Resource Reclamation Centre, Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
  • 3 Department of Environmental Engineering, School of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
  • 4 Environmental Bio-innovations Group (EBiG), School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore. WJNg@ntu.edu.sg.
Abstract

Photoluminescent carbon dots have gained increasing attention in recent years due to their unique optical properties. Herein, a facile one-pot hydrothermal process is used to develop nitrogen-doped carbon dots (NCDs) with durian shell waste as the precursor and Tris base as the doping agent. The synthesized NCDs showed a quantum yield of 12.93% with a blue fluorescence under UV-light irradiation and maximum emission at 414 nm at an excitation wavelength of 340 nm. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy showed the presence of nitrogen and oxygen functional groups on the NCD surface. The particles were quasi-spherical with an average particle diameter of 6.5 nm. The synthesized NCDs were resistant to photobleaching and stable under a wide range of pH but were negatively affected by increasing temperature. NCDs showed high selectivity to Tetracycline as the fluorescence of NCDs was quenched significantly by Tetracycline as a result of the inner filter effect. Based on sensitivity experiments, a linear relationship (R2 = 0.989) was developed over a concentration range of 0-30 μM with a detection limit of 75 nM (S/N = 3). The linear model was validated with two water samples (lake water and tap water) with relative recoveries of 98.6-108.5% and an RSD of <3.5%.

Keywords

Carbon dots; Durian shell waste; Fluorescent ink; Nitrogen doping; Tetracycline detection.

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