Facile synthesis of sulphur-doped carbon dots (S-CDs) using a hydrothermal method for the selective sensing of Cr and Fe ions: application to environmental water sample analysis.

In this work, we used a one-step hydrothermal method to synthesize blue-emission sulfur-doped carbon dots (S-CDs) using jaggery as a carbon precursor. The synthesized carbon quantum dots showed low toxicity, good water solubility, anti-interference properties, and stable fluorescence. When excited at 310 nm, the S-CDs produced bright emission with a quantum yield of 7.15% at 397 nm. The S-CDs exhibited selective and sensitive quenching responses with limits of detection (LODs) of 4.25 μg mL and 3.15 μg mL for variable concentrations of Cr and Fe, respectively, accompanied by a consistent linear relationship between fluorescence intensity and these concentrations. Fluorescence lifetime measurements were used to investigate the fluorescence quenching mechanism, which supports the static type of quenching. Outstanding benefits of the developed S-CD based fluorescence probe include its low cost, excellent sensitivity and selectivity, and ease of use for the detection of Cr and Fe ions. The developed carbon dot based fluorescent probe was successfully used to detect Cr and Fe ions in real water samples with an excellent recovery ratio.