High Quantum Yield Green-Emitting Carbon Dots for Fe(ІІІ) Detection, Biocompatible Fluorescent Ink and Cellular Imaging

Abstract

In the present work, we reported the luminescence of a green-emitting carbon dots (CDs) synthesized via solid state reaction method using diammonium hydrogen citrate and urea as a starting materials. The obtained green-emitting CDs shows strong absorption in the 350–450 nm region and gives intense green emission (λ_max = 537 nm) with quantum yield as high as 46.4% under 420 nm excitation. The obtained green-emitting CDs also demonstrates high photo-stability, which is evidenced by the fact that its emission intensity almost has no change under irradiation by a 365 nm UV lamp for 2 hours. Moreover, the obtained green-emitting CDs shows high sensitivity and selectivity for the detection of Fe³⁺, and their emission intensity response towards Fe³⁺ ions is highly linear (R² = 0.995) over the concentration range from 25 to 300 µM, which could provide an effective platform for detection of Fe³⁺. Mostly important, we further demonstrate that such photoluminescent green-emitting CDs exhibits low toxicity and are biocompatible for use with in cellular imaging. Combining with low cytotoxicity, good water solubility and excellent luminescence properties, green-emitting CDs could be used as a biocompatible fluorescent ink in future applications.