Blue Fluorescent Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Dots for the Specific Detection of Mn2+

Graphical In this work, we proposed a kind of N-CDs which can specially respond to Mn 2+ with a minimum concentration of 5 nM. Notably, N-CDs-based visible warming of Mn 2+ over drinking water standard can be achieved. Manganese is one of vital elements related to various diseases. Nowadays, few works can specifically respond to Mn 2+ alone. Hence, it is still challenging for specific detection of Mn ion. In this work, nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N-CDs) with blue luminescence properties was prepared using nitrated pyrene and diethylenetriamine (DETA) via one-step solvothermal process. N-CDs were applied as a fluorescent probe for specific detection of Mn 2+ because of their high selectivity and sensitivity. No apparent fluorescence interferences can be observed with various amino acids and metal ions. The minimum concentration detected was 5 nM. The quenching mechanism maybe attributed to dynamic quenching processes. Notably, in this work, a visual early-warning of Mn content exceeding the standard in drinking water in the light of fluorescence quenching of N-CDs was achieved, and the practical sensing of N-CDs which performed in environmental water samples demonstrated the detection performance of N-CDs in real samples.