Renewable biowaste-derived carbon dots have garnered immense interest owing to their exceptional optical, fluorescence, chemical, and environmentally friendly attributes, which have been exploited for the detection of metals, non-metals, and organics in the environment. In the present study, water-soluble fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) were synthesized via facile green microwave pyrolysis of pine-cone biomass as precursors, without any chemical additives. The synthesized fluorescent pine-cone carbon dots (PC-CDs) were spherical in shape with a bimodal particle-size distribution (average diameters of 15.2 nm and 42.1 nm) and a broad absorption band of between 280 and 350 nm, attributed to a π-π* and n-π* transition. The synthesized PC-CDs exhibited the highest fluorescent (FL) intensity at an excitation wavelength of 360 nm, with maximum emission of 430 nm. The synthesized PC-CDs were an excellent fluorescent probe for the selective detection of Cu2+ in aqueous solution, amidst the presence of other metal ions. The FL intensity of PC-CDs was exceptionally quenched in the presence of Cu2+ ions, with a low detection limit of 0.005 μg/mL; this was largely ascribed to Cu2+ ion binding interactions with the enriched surface functional groups on the PC-CDs. As-synthesized PC-CDs are an excellent, cost effective, and sensitive probe for detecting and monitoring Cu2+ metal ions in wastewater.
Herein, we report the preparation, characterisation and application of graphitic carbon nitride/carbon nanodots nanocomposite (g-C3N4/CDs) as a platform for the sensing of 2-chlorophenol in water. The g-C3N4/CDs was prepared via microwave irradiation and characterised by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The electrochemical properties of modified glassy carbon electrodes were studied using cyclic voltammetry (CV). In comparison to unmodified GCE, there was a marked enhancement of the oxidation peak of the analyte when GCE modified with the nanocomposite material was used. The composite modifier also performed better than the single-component modifiers. The oxidation peak currents varied linearly with the concentrations in the range 0.5 to 2.5 μM with a detection limit of 0.67 μM. The sensor was used to determine the analyte in real water samples with good recoveries.
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