Rapid and sensitive online determination of ozone via gas–liquid chemiluminescence synergistically enhanced by graphene quantum dots and Triton X-100

Abstract

The determination of the ozone concentration in the atmosphere is an urgent need but most current methods are limited by large-scale equipment or complex procedures. Herein, a gas–liquid chemiluminescence (GL-CL) assay based on a portable GL-CL detector platform was reported for the fast and sensitive online determination of ozone. Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) and Triton X-100 were employed to synergistically enhance the CL intensity of chromotropic acid (CA)–ozone. The increase was about seven-fold upon the addition of GQDs and Triton X-100. The potential enhancement mechanism was also investigated. The speculated CL enhancement mechanism was that GQDs could catalyze dissolved oxygen in the CA solution to produce more free radicals in the presence of UV-light, and these radicals converted CA into more active compounds that could react with ozone and emit photons. The free radicals, active compounds and luminophores were protected from water quenching by micelles produced by dissolving Triton X-100 in water and as a result, CL was markedly enhanced. Most importantly, the response time of the GL-CL detector platform towards ozone was less than 0.5 s. Based on this outcome, a GL-CL assay for detecting atmospheric ozone was successfully developed with a linear range from 0.1 to 150 ppbv and a detection limit of 0.02 ppbv. This work provides a rapid and sensitive method for the online measurement of ozone, and has great potential in environmental applications; the potential applications of GQDs and Triton X-100 in the field of GL-CL have also been highlighted.