Chem. J. Chinese Universities ›› 2019, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (8): 1593.doi: 10.7503/cjcu20190243

• Analytical Chemistry • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Luminescent Nanoswitch Based on Carbon Dots for Sensitive Detection of Cu(Ⅱ) Ions and Pyrophosphates

ZHOU Sihui, LI Qiong, ZHANG Ting, PANG Daiwen, TANG Hongwu   

  1. Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Biology and Medicine, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
  • Received:2019-04-26 Revised:2019-07-23 Online:2019-08-10 Published:2019-08-02
  • Supported by:
    Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.81572086, 81772256, 21827808).

Abstract: Carbon dots(CDs) with brightly red fluorescence were prepared via a facile one-step synthesis way by hydroxyl and amino groups to react at high temperature. The as-obtained CDs can overcome the excitation-dependence luminescence behavior for normal routes and the quantum yield is up to 41%. Based on the fluorescent materials, a luminescent nanoswitch through fluorescence on and off in response to specific external stimuli was designed. Fluorescence quenching of CDs by Cu2+ is ascribed to the complexation reaction. When pyrophosphate(PPi) is introduced into the system, Cu2+ leaves CDs' surface because PPi binds to CDs much stronger than Cu2+, resulting in the fluorescence recovery. Following the proposed way, a signal off-on nanoswich sensing system for the detection of Cu2+ and PPi with high selectivity and sensitivity was constructed, and the detection limits for Cu2+ and PPi are 2.14 μmol/L and 1.85 μmol/L, respectively. This method has been applied in real samples, and this strategy broadens the sensing application of fluorescent CDs, providing the possibility to determine these targets in living systems.

Key words: Carbon dots, Fluorescence sensor, Cu2+ detection, Pyrophosphate

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