Tryptophan-based carbon dots as fluorescent probe for detection of Pb 2+ and Fe 3+ ions

A Probe for metal ions based on carbon dots (CDs) has been prepared. A one-step method has been developed to synthesize the probe using tryptophan as the recognizing group. The synthesized probe has been evaluated for metal ions’ detection. The results show increase in fluorescence in the presence of Pb 2+ , over other 14 metal ions, illustrating the selective and sensitive detection of Pb 2+ .