Green Hydrothermal Synthesis of Fluorescent Carbon Dots from Glucose and Taurine for Fe ³⁺ and pH Sensing

Carbon nanodots (C-dots), as a class of heavy-metal-free fluorescent nonmaterial have drawn increasing attention due to their strong photoluminescence (PL), good biocompatibility and low toxicity. Herein, we synthesize nontoxic fluorescent C-dots by hydrothermal treatment of the mixture of glucose and taurine, in which process the formation and the surface passivation of C-dots take place simultaneously. The influence of reaction temperature, reaction time and feed ratio of glucose to taurine on the PL property of C-dots is studied. As the C-dots exhibit sensitive pH and iron ion dependent PL property, they can be used for pH and Fe3+ sensing in solutions.