Nitrite sensing based on the carbon dots-enhanced chemiluminescence from peroxynitrous acid and carbonate

•Carbon dots enhanced the chemiluminescence from peroxynitrous acid–carbonate system.•The CL system was used for sensitive determination of nitrite in tap water.•Energy acceptor role of carbon dots in peroxynitrous acid–carbonate system is revealed.

In this work, chemiluminescence (CL) from peroxynitrous acid (ONOOH)–carbonate system greatly amplified by carbon dots was observed. The CL mechanism of the ONOOH–carbonate–carbon dots system has been investigated and the results reveal that the carbon dots could serve as the energy acceptor, which gives us new insight into the optical properties of the new emerging carbon nanomaterial. There is a good linear relationship between the CL signal and the concentration of the nitrite using for ONOOH formation, which provides us a nitrite sensing method with sensitivity as high as 5.0×10−9 M (S/N=3). The method has been successfully applied to the determination of nitrite in tap water with the recovery of 98%. The standard deviations are within 2.5%.

Graphical abstractChemiluminescence of carbon dots in ONOOH–carbonate system has not only resulted from the radiative electron–hole annihilation between hole-injected and electron-injected, but also from the energy transfer between (CO2)2⁎ and carbon dots.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide