Sensitive pH probe developed with water-soluble fluorescent carbon dots from chocolate by one-step hydrothermal method

In present work, fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) with an average diameter of 2.5 nm were firstly synthesised by a simple, convenient and low-cost hydrothermal method from chocolate. The obtained CDs possessed fine monodispersity and bright blue fluorescence that was strongest at an excitation wavelength of 360 nm and had a comparable quantum yield of 12% (in case of dots prepared in presence of nitric acid). The emission peak depended on the excitation wavelength in the range from 320 to 440 nm. Ionic strength had a weak effect up to 1.0 M and then no significant change was found in the range of 1.0–4.5 M. The fluorescence intensity of CDs displayed good pH adaptability and a linear dependence on the pH change in the range of pH 1.0–3.0 and pH 9.0–12.5, which have promising potentials for pH sensor.