Green Synthesis of Dual Emission Nitrogen-Rich Carbon Dot and Its Use in Ag+ Ion and EDTA Sensing

Abstract

Nitrogen-rich carbon dots (NDots) were synthesized by using uric acid as carbon and nitrogen sources. The as-synthesized NDots showed strong dual emissions at 420 nm and 510 nm with excitation at 350 nm and 460 nm, respectively. The physicochemical analyses such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Transmission electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used to analyze the chemical, physical and morphological structures of NDots. The as-synthesized NDots exhibited wide linear range (0-100 µM) and very low detection limit (124 nM) in Ag+ ion sensing. In addition, Ag+ saturated NDots could be used as an EDTA sensor by the EDTA induced PL recovery.