Gas assisted method synthesis nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots and Hg (II) sensing

Nitrogen-doped fluorescent carbon quantum dots (CQDs) was prepared by gas-assisted method using cellulose as precursors under ammonia atmosphere, which not only exhibited excellent photoluminescent properties, but also showed highly selective and sensitive detection of mercury ion. The nitrogen-doped CQDs displayed excitation wavelength dependent fluorescent behavior with outstanding dispersibility. Moreover, they exhibited high tolerance to various external conditions, such as storage time, pH value, and ionic strength. The rapid detection of Hg (II) by one-step operation within 1 min and the good linear correlation between I₀/I and Hg (II) concentration in the range of 10-100 nM made the nitrogen-doped CQDs a promising nanoprobe for Hg (II) detection. The detection limit of the nitrogen-doped CQDs is about 7.7 nM. Such a nanoprobe has been successfully applied for the analysis of Hg (II) in natural water samples, demonstrating excellent practical feasibility.