A Double Ratio Fluorescent Probe for pH and Water Detection

doi:10.19894/j.issn.1000-0518.240120

Chinese Journal of Applied Chemistry ›› 2024, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (10): 1491-1501.DOI: 10.19894/j.issn.1000-0518.240120

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A Double Ratio Fluorescent Probe for pH and Water Detection

De-Jin TIE, Mei-Jia XU, Xiao-Dan TANG, Hong-Min JIA(), Hong-Mei YU()

School of Chemical Engineering，University of Science and Technology Liaoning，Anshan 114051，China

Received:2024-04-11 Accepted:2024-07-30 Published:2024-10-01 Online:2024-10-29
Contact: Hong-Min JIA,Hong-Mei YU
About author:seesea0304@163.com
jhongmin66@163.com
Supported by:
the Department of Education of Liaoning Province, China(LJKMZ20220654)

Abstract

Abstract:

The detection of pH and water is critical in the life sciences and chemical industries. The yellow fluorescent carbon dots （CDs） synthesized by solvothermal method using neutral red （NR） as carbon source， ethylenediamine （EDA） as nitrogen source and ethanol as solvent was studied. It was found that the carbon dots （NR-EDA-CDs） could produce double emission peaks when the excitation wavelength was in the range of 310~370 nm. Therefore， a method for the detection of pH and water with a double ratio fluorescence probe based on a single luminant was established. The carbon dots were characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy， X-ray diffraction， Raman spectroscopy， infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results showed that the carbon dots are spheroidal in shape， with an average particle size of 3.6 nm and obvious graphite structure. It was found that the carbon dots has good stability， photobleaching resistance and salt tolerance at the excitation wavelength of 365 nm. In phosphate buffer solution， pH in the range of 4.15~8.55 has a good linear relationship with the fluorescence intensity ratio of 581 and 449 nm （F₅₈₁/F₄₄₉）， and its coefficient （R²） is 0.986. The pH ratio fluorescent probe has the characteristics of wide linear range and good reversibility. At the same time， it was found that the content of water in DMSO is linear with F₄₈₅/F₅₈₅ in the range of 0.6%~50% （V（H₂O）/V（DMSO））， R² is 0.996， and the detection limit is 0.18% （V（H₂O）/V（DMSO））. The double ratio fluorescent probe provides a new method for the detection of pH and water.

Key words: Carbon dots, Fluorescence analysis, pH, H₂O, Ratiometric fluorescent probe

CLC Number:

O657.3

De-Jin TIE, Mei-Jia XU, Xiao-Dan TANG, Hong-Min JIA, Hong-Mei YU. A Double Ratio Fluorescent Probe for pH and Water Detection[J]. Chinese Journal of Applied Chemistry, 2024, 41(10): 1491-1501.

Figures/Tables 12

Fig.1 The preparation diagram of NR-EDA-CDs

Fig.2 （A） HRTEM （Inset： the particle size distribution statistics），（B） lattice spacing，（C） XRD and （D） Raman spectrum of NR-EDA-CDs

Fig.3 FT-IR spectra of NR-EDA-CDs （a） and neutral red （b）

Fig.4 （A） XPS of NR-EDA-CDs； High-resolution XPS spectra of C1s （B）， O1s （C） and N1s （D） of NR-EDA-CDs

Fig.5 （A） UV absorption spectrum of NR-EDA-CDs；（B） Fluorescence emission spectra of NR-EDA-CDs at different excitation wavelengths

Fig.6 Ratio fluorescence stabilities of NR-EDA-CDs under UV light （A） and 0~1.0 mol/L NaCl solution （B）

Fig.7 （A） Color changes of NR-EDA-CDs in phosphate buffers with different pH values；（B） Fluorescence of NR-EDA-CDs at different pH；（C） Linear relationship between F581/F449 and pH；（D） The reversibility of F581/F449 switching between pH=4 and 8

Table 1 Comparison of literature on pH range of fluorescence detection

Probe	Method	Linear range	Ref.
ABMP	Direct fluorescent probe	2.4~4	［3］
PHHF	Ratio fluorescence probe	3.24~6	［4］
Probe L	Ratio fluorescence probe	4.5~6	［7］
RTPH	Direct fluorescent probe	1.87~4.48	［8］
Probe 1-1	Direct fluorescent probe	1.69~3.38	［25］
Probe 1-2	Direct fluorescent probe	1.78~2.52	［25］
Y-G-CDs	Direct fluorescent probe	5.9~7.7	［26］
Y-G-CDs	Ratio fluorescence probe	5.9~8.0	［26］
Green CDs	Direct fluorescent probe	4.5~8.5	［27］
NR-EDA-CDs	Ratio fluorescence probe	4.15~8.55	This work

Fig.8 （A） Sigmoidal fitting of the pH-dependent fluorescence at 585 nm for NR-EDA-CDs； Effects of anions and cations （B） with amino acids （C） on F581/F449

Fig.9 （A） Fluorescence spectra of NR-EDA-CDs in different solvents；（B） Histogram of F585/F435 with different solvents

Fig.10 （A） Fluorescence of adding water to CDs-DMSO；（B） The linear fitting relationship diagram of F485/F585 and water content；（C） Fluorescence of adding DMSO to CDs-DMSO；（D） The relationship diagram of F485/F585 and DMSO content

Fig.11 （A） UV spectra of NR-EDA-CDs-DMSO diluted with water；（B） UV spectra of NR-EDA-CDs-DMSO diluted with DMSO

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A Double Ratio Fluorescent Probe for pH and Water Detection

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