Synthesis of non-doped and non-modified carbon dots with high quantum yield and crystallinity by one-pot hydrothermal method using a single carbon source and used for ClO− detection

Abstract A facile and straightforward strategy was used to prepare carbon dots (CDs) using catechol as carbon source in one-pot hydrothermal method. The synthesis method is simple without any doping and modification and the prepared CDs do not require any post-processing. Characterizations of the obtained CDs indicated that they had high crystallinity and higher quantum yield (QY, 32%) than most non-functionalized and non-doped CDs. Noticeably, the fluorescence of CDs could be quenched with hypochlorite (ClO − ) by oxidation of the residual pyrocatechol groups on the surface to o -benzoquinone exhibiting high sensitivity and selectivity for ClO − . The assay covered a linear range from 0.1 to 10 μM with a low detection limit of 30 nM. The results showed that the CDs provided a promising potential tool for the detection of ClO − in real water samples.