Sustainable synthesis of nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots from Zanthoxylum armatum for environmental lead...

In this research work, Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Quantum Dots (N-CQDs) were prepared by developing a green, sustainable approach on the basis of Zanthoxylum armatum leaf. The N-CQDs that have been synthesized have good optical characteristics and have been investigated in the sensitive and selective detection of Pb²⁺ ions in aqueous solution. The different types of characterization methods were used to examine the structure, morphology, and optical characteristics of the N-CQDs. These were UV- Visible spectroscopy, fluorescence spectrophotometry, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, powder X- ray diffraction (PXRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). These results are validated by the quenching of fluorescence of these N-CQDs when exposed to Pb²⁺ ions, which demonstrates the possibility of these N-CQDs to serve as nano-sensors to detect heavy metal ions with a detection limit of 1.66 μM. The focus on the natural material and synthesis that is environmentally friendly highlights the sustainability of the given work.