Ratiometric fluorescence detection of mercuric ion based on the nanohybrid of fluorescence carbon dots and quantum dots

• The simplicity of the preparation of the ratiometric fluorescence probe.
• Visual fluorescence detection of Hg2+ which could be observed with the naked eye.
• High selectivity and low detection limit for aqueous Hg2+ sensing.

A novel nanohybrid ratiometric fluorescence probe comprised of carbon dots (C-dots) and hydrophilic CdSe@ZnS quantum dots (QDs) has been developed by simply mixing the blue-emission C-dots with red-emission carboxylmethyldithiocarbamate modified CdSe@ZnS QDs (GDTC-QDs). The nanohybrid ratiometric fluorescence probe exhibits dual emissions at 436 nm and 629 nm under a single excitation wavelength. Due to the strong chelating ability of GDTC on the surface of QDs to mercuric ion (Hg2+), the fluorescence of the GDTC-QDs in the nanohybrid system could be selectively quenched in the presence of Hg2+ while the fluorescence of the C-dots remained constant, resulting in an obviously distinguishable fluorescence color evolution (from red to blue) of the nanohybrid system. The detection limit of this method was found to be as low as 0.1 μM. Furthermore, the recovery result for Hg2+ in real samples including tap water and lake water by this method was satisfying, suggesting its potential application for Hg2+ sensing.

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