Design of highly defective Zn-doped CeO2 solid solution quantum dots for accurate monitoring of ciprofloxacin

Water quality monitoring requires new water sensors with highly sensitive and low-power consumption to detect the increasingly widespread contamination of antibiotics. Quantum dots (QDs), typically solid solution quantum dots (SSQDs), are emerging as promising sensing materials candidates owing to their unique structure with extremely small size and extraordinary electronic properties. In this work, Zn-doped CeO 2 solid solution quantum dots with 2–6 nm grain size were embedded into biocarbon sheets and constructed as modified sensing electrode to detect trace ciprofloxacin (CIP). Biocarbon skeleton and the highly defective SSQDs structure enables them to be ideal reactors for electro-redox of CIP. The proposed strategy offers a powerful and feasible way to fabricate SSQDs modified electrode, suggesting potential application of electrochemical sensor for antibiotic.