Aqueous synthesis of CdTe/CdSe core/shell quantum dots as pH-sensitive fluorescence probe for the determination of ascorbic acid.

By controlling the reflux time and the quantity of the shell materials, different sizes of thioglycollic acid (TGA) modified CdTe/CdSe core/shell quantum dots were synthesized in aqueous solution. This type of QDs was used for sensitive and selective determination of ascorbic acid in commercial tablets. Under optimal conditions, a good linearity was observed between the relative fluorescence (FL) intensity and the concentration of ascorbic acid in the range of 4.0 to 64.0 μg/mL with a correlation coefficient of 0.9968. The limit of detection was 2.4 μg/mL. This method was applied to the determination of the ascorbic acid in Vitamin C tablets and Vitamin C Yinqiao pills, and satisfactory results were obtained.