Synthesis of fructose bound Fe(iii) integrated carbon dots as a robust turn-off detection sensor for chlortoluron

Abstract

A simple, sensitive, and robust fluorescent sensor for chlortoluron detection has been developed. Fluorescent carbon dots were synthesized using ethylene diamine and fructose via a hydrothermal protocol. The molecular interaction between fructose carbon dots and Fe(III) resulted in a fluorescent metastable state exhibiting remarkable fluorescence quenching at λ_em of 454 nm and interestingly, further quenching occurred upon the addition of chlortoluron. The quenching in the fluorescence intensity of CDF-Fe(III) towards chlortoluron occurred in the concentration range of 0.2–5.0 μg mL⁻¹ where the limit of detection was found to be 0.0467 μg mL⁻¹, the limit of quantification was 0.14 μg mL⁻¹, and the relative standard deviation was 0.568%. The selective and specific recognitive nature of the Fe(III) integrated fructose bound carbon dots towards the chlortoluron make it a suitable sensor for real sample applications. The proposed strategy was applied for the determination of chlortoluron in soil, water, and wheat samples with recoveries in the range of 95% to 104.3%.