Direct chemiluminescence of carbon dots induced by potassium ferricyanide and its analytical application

• CL reaction of C-dots with K3Fe(CN)6 as an efficient oxidizing agent was studied.
• The analytical applicability of C-dots/K3Fe(CN)6 CL system was investigated.
• Cr(VI) and adrenaline were determined at trace level using this system.

The chemiluminescence (CL) of water-soluble fluorescent carbon dots (C-dots) induced by direct chemical oxidation was investigated. C-dots were prepared by solvothermal method and characterized by fluorescence spectra and transmission electron microscopy. It was found that K3Fe(CN)6 could directly oxidize C-dots to produce a relatively intense CL emission. The mechanism of CL generation was investigated based on the fluorescence and CL emission spectra and the effect of radical scavengers on the CL intensity. The inhibitive effect of some metal ions and biologically important molecules on the CL intensity of the system was examined and the potential of the system for the determination of these species at trace levels was studied. In order to evaluate the capability of method to real sample analysis, it was applied to the determination of Cr(VI) and adrenaline in water and injection samples, respectively.

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