Wei Jianfei, Li Haikuo, Yuan Ye, Sun Chenying, Hao Dan, Zheng Guo, Wang Rui
School of Material Science and Engineering, Tianjin Polytechnic University No. 399 BinShuiXi Road, Xiqing District Tianjin P. R. China.
School of Material Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology No. A2, East Yinghua Street, Chaoyang District Beijing P. R. China
RSC Adv. 2018 Nov 1;8(65):37028-37034. doi: 10.1039/c8ra06732e.
The quantitative analysis of trace water in organic solvents has always been a research hotspot, and it is still in the development stage and needs to be continuously developed. In this study, a facile and rapid approach was developed for the preparation of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) with yellow fluorescence emission and ultrahigh absolute fluorescence quantum yields (92.6%). Compared to traditional organic fluorescent molecules, the preparation of CQDs is simpler, faster and more environmentally friendly. It is found that the fluorescent properties of CQDs are excellent in organic solvents and could be quenched by trace water, which makes them a promising material used without any modification for the detection of water in organic solvents. As a result, the as-prepared CQDs were adopted as fluorescent probes for the detection of water in organic solvents (ethanol, tetrahydrofuran, and 1,4-dioxane). The limit of detection was as low as 0.01%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that CQDs have been used as water sensing fluorescent probes in organic solvents. The possible mechanism for trace water detection of the as-prepared CQDs in organic solvents is attributed to the specific water-fluorophore interaction and partially to the increase in polarity of the solvent caused by an increase in water concentration.
有机溶剂中痕量水的定量分析一直是研究热点，目前仍处于发展阶段，有待不断完善。本研究开发了一种简便快速的方法来制备具有黄色荧光发射和超高绝对荧光量子产率（92.6%）的碳量子点（CQDs）。与传统有机荧光分子相比，CQDs的制备更简单、快速且更环保。研究发现，CQDs在有机溶剂中具有优异的荧光性能，且能被痕量水淬灭，这使其成为一种无需任何修饰即可用于检测有机溶剂中水分的有前景的材料。因此，所制备的CQDs被用作检测有机溶剂（乙醇、四氢呋喃和1,4 - 二氧六环）中水分的荧光探针。检测限低至0.01%。据我们所知，这是首次将CQDs用作有机溶剂中水分传感荧光探针。所制备的CQDs在有机溶剂中检测痕量水的可能机制归因于特定的水 - 荧光团相互作用，部分归因于水浓度增加导致溶剂极性增大。
