Abstract
To selectively detect Cu2+ ions is very important for controlling daily intake of Cu2+ ions and monitoring numerous biological processes. Fluorescence spectroscopic technique is a useful one for detection of copper ions. Previous methods always involve the use of metal Cd-based quantum dots (QDs), which suffer to the photobleaching and subsequent release of toxic metal ions. Herein, a simple method has been developed to detect Cu2+ ions by using pristine graphene QDs. Graphene QDs are synthesized by chemical oxidation of pitch graphite fibers. Our results indicate the photoluminescence (PL) of as-synthesized graphene QDs could be quenched by a group of metal ions while adding biothiol cysteine can only cause the significant recovery of the PL of graphene QDs quenched by Cu2+ ions. Our approach provides an easy and environmental friendly method for detection of Cu2+ ions and has the potential for future practical applications.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We acknowledge the support from the National Science Foundation of China through Grant No. 21201138 and from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China through a 973-program under Grant No. 2012CB619401. We acknowledge TEM support from Electron Microscopy Laboratory of Frontier Institute of Science and Technology at Xi’an Jiaotong University.
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Liu, X., Gao, W., Zhou, X. et al. Pristine graphene quantum dots for detection of copper ions. Journal of Materials Research 29, 1401–1407 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2014.145
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2014.145