Carbon dots with tunable emission, controllable size and their application for sensing hypochlorous acid

Optically tunable carbon dots (CDs) were fabricated through a simple one-step microwave-assisted procedure. These carbonaceous nanoparticles exhibited tunable emission under a single wavelength excitation, controllable size without any tedious separation process and stabilities towards photobleaching and high ionic strength. The effects of size difference and surface property on the fluorescence behaviors of CDs were explored through a post-reduction/oxidation method. Experimental results also demonstrated the fluorescence of CDs could be tuned when exposed to H2O2/AcOH solutions. Moreover, the use of as-synthesized CDs as a chemical sensor for the quantification of hypochlorous acid (HClO) has been preliminarily tested, showing high sensitivity and selectivity towards HClO over other common ions. The superior optical properties would enable the use of CDs in multiplexed optical coding of biomolecules, light-emitting devices and biological applications.