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Dual-mode colorimetric and fluorescent detection of cobalt ions based on N, B co-doped carbon quantum dots and p-phenylenediamine derived nanoparticles

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Abstract

Nitrogen, boron co-doped carbon quantum dots (gCQDs), and a coloration probe (PPD-NPs) with response to cobalt ions (Co2+) were prepared by using 4-hydroxyphenylboric acid as the common precursor, with ethylenediamine and p-phenylenediamine (PPD) adopted as nitrogen-doped reagents, respectively. A noticeable brown-to-purple color change can be observed with the addition of Co2+, and a broad absorption band emerges at 535 nm. At the same time, gCQDs, which is introduced as the fluorescence signal source, will be significantly quenched due to the enhanced inner filtration effect, induced by the overlap between the emission spectrum of gCQDs and the emerging absorption band. Therefore, a colorimetric/fluorescent dual-mode sensing probe for Co2+ is constructed by combining the recognition unit PPD-NPs and the fluorescent gCQDs into PPD-NP/gCQD. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the calculated limits of detection are 1.51 × 10−7 M and 3.75 × 10−7 M for the colorimetric mode and the fluorescence mode, respectively, well qualified for the determination of Co2+ maximum permitted level in drinking water. The feasibility of the proposed method has been verified in tap water, lake water, and black tea samples.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article (and its supplementary information files).

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [62375112], the Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province [KYCX23_2520], and the National Natural Science Foundation of China [22004050].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Science, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China

    Anqi Hu, Guoqing Chen, Lei Li, Chaoqun Ma, Taiqun Yang, Hui Gao, Jiao Gu, Chun Zhu & Yamin Wu

  2. Jiangsu Provincial Research Center of Light Industrial Optoelectronic Engineering and Technology, Wuxi, 214122, China

    Anqi Hu, Guoqing Chen, Lei Li, Chaoqun Ma, Taiqun Yang, Hui Gao, Jiao Gu, Chun Zhu & Yamin Wu

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  1. Anqi Hu
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  2. Guoqing Chen
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Contributions

AH: conceptualization, methodology, writing—original draft; GC: project administration, funding acquisition, writing—review and editing; LL: supervision, writing—review and editing; CM: resources; TY: validation; HG: data curation; JG: resources; CZ: investigation; YW: data curation. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Guoqing Chen.

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Hu, A., Chen, G., Li, L. et al. Dual-mode colorimetric and fluorescent detection of cobalt ions based on N, B co-doped carbon quantum dots and p-phenylenediamine derived nanoparticles. Microchim Acta 191, 233 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-024-06310-7

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