In-situ hydrothermal synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymers coated carbon dots for fluorescent detection of bisphenol A

Abstract A new fluorescent approach for bisphenol A (BPA) was first developed based on eco-friendly molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) coated carbon dots (CDs) composite. Fluorescent carbon dots were synthesized by hydrothermal synthesis, and their surface was encapsulated in the pores of silica of MIP matrix (MIP-coated CDs) in situ. The MIP-coated CDs composite exhibited strong fluorescent property and high selectivity as it incorporated both merits of CDs and MIP. After the removal of original template molecules, the nanocomposite displayed quite high selectivity for BPA. As the concentration of BPA increased, the fluorescent signal gradually decreased. The fluorescent response for BPA detection was in the linear ranges from 100 nM to 4200 nM with the detection limit of 30 nM ( S / N  = 3). The proposed method was successfully applied to the detection of BPA in river water samples with satisfactory results. Moreover, the strategy of MIP-coated CDs composite as a novel fluorescent biosensor paves a new way to improve the performance for fluorescent sensors.