Mercury (II) Detection Using Nitrogen and Sulfur co-doped Carbon Quantum Dots andFluorescence Quenching Assay

Mercury is a highly toxic and potentially bioaccumulative heavy metal ion that can cause severe health problemsin humans even at very low concentrations. Thus, the development of a simple, rapid, and sensitive assay forthe effective detection of mercury ions at trace levels is of great importance. Here, nitrogen and sulfur co-dopedcarbon quantum dots (N,S-CQD) were synthesized by hydrothermal treatment of chitosan in the presence ofthiourea and citric acid with a quantum yield (QY) up to ۳۳.۰ % and used as a selective fluorescent probe to detectmercury ions (Hg۲+). The synthesized N,S-CQD showed ultrasensitive ability to detect Hg۲+ ions in the presenceof ۱۱ interfering metal ions, with a low detection limit (~۴ nM) over a wide linear range from ~۵- ۱۶۰ nM. Thesensing performance of N,S-CQD probe in real sample applications was evaluated by the detection of Hg۲+ inlake water samples

کلیدواژه ها:

Carbon quantum dots ، Mercury sensor ، Fluorescence quenching ، Chitosan