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Silica-coated carbon dots conjugated to CdTe quantum dots: a ratiometric fluorescent probe for copper(II)

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Abstract

The surface of CdTe quantum dots (Q-dots) was modified with thioglycolic acid (TGA) and these Q-dots were then covalently conjugated to amino-functionalized silica-coated carbon dots (C-dot@SiO2) via carbodiimide chemistry. The Q-dots form kind of “satellites” on the surface of the C-dot@SiO2 nanoparticles. The nanoparticle conjugates display dual emission (with peaks at 441 nm and 605 nm) under UV excitation and were further characterized by transmission electron microscopy, UV–vis absorption and FTIR spectroscopy. The C-dot@SiO2@Q-dots hybrid spheres are shown to represent a ratiometric fluorescent probe for Cu2+ in that the emission of the Q-dots is quenched by Cu2+, while the emission of the C-dots (which are coated with SiO2) is not quenched. The ratio of the fluorescence intensities at 441 and 655 nm is related to the concentration of Cu2+ in the range from 0.1 to 1.0 μM, with a 0.096 μM lower detection limit. The ratiometric probe was successfully applied to the determination of Cu2+ in (spiked) vegetable and fruit samples by the standard addition method, and recoveries ranged from 96.7 to 100.8 %.

Carbon dots were first coated with silica and then with CdTe quantum dots to give nanoparticles with an architecture of the type C-dot@SiO2@Q-dots. These are shown to be a viable ratiometric fluorescent probe for the detection of Cu(II).

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the Two-Way Support Programs of Sichuan Agricultural University (Project No.03570113), the Education Department of Sichuan Provincial, PR China (Grant Nos. 13ZA0255).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Science, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya’an, 625014, People’s Republic of China

    Hanbing Rao, Wei Liu, Zhiwei Lu, Yanying Wang, Hongwei Ge, Ping Zou & Xianxiang Wang

  2. Animal Genetics and Breeding Institute of Sichuan Agricultural University, Sichuan Ya’An, 625014, People’s Republic of China

    Hua He

  3. College of Life Science, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya’an, 625014, People’s Republic of China

    Xianying Zeng

  4. Ya’an City Agricultural Products Quality, Safety Monitoring and Testing Center, Ya’an, 625014, People’s Republic of China

    Yongjia Wang

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  1. Hanbing Rao
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  2. Wei Liu
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Correspondence to Hanbing Rao or Yanying Wang.

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The authors wish it to be known that, in their opinions, Hanbing Rao and Wei Liu should be regarded as joint First Authors.

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Rao, H., Liu, W., Lu, Z. et al. Silica-coated carbon dots conjugated to CdTe quantum dots: a ratiometric fluorescent probe for copper(II). Microchim Acta 183, 581–588 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-015-1682-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-015-1682-6

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