Silver nanoparticles decorated Blue Carbon Dots based Pectin films: A unique fluorescent sensor for the detection of Tartrazine in candy samples.

This research work demonstrates an easy synthesis of Silver nanoparticles decorated Blue Carbon Dots-based Pectin films (AgNPs@BCDs/PN) and its use towards sensitive and selective detection of Tartrazine (TZ) in candy samples by spectrofluorimetry method. Blue Carbon Dots were prepared through hydrothermal treatment of Citric acid and Thiourea. AgNPs@BCDs were prepared using mechanical stirring. The particle sizes of AgNPs@BCDs were found to be in the range of 12.5 to 23.8 nm. Various techniques were deployed to explore the structural, morphological and photoluminescent behaviour of AgNPs@BCDs. The fluorescence method achieved a limit of detection (LOD) of 21.02 nM within the range of 0-32 μM. Combination of Photoinduced Electron Transfer (PET) and Surface state modulation was adopted for the sensing. The recoveries and relative standard deviations were 94.11-99.42 % and 1.61-1.91 % respectively. This work highlights the great application prospects of AgNPs@BCDs/PN for Tartrazine sensing in a rapid, simple and sensitive way.