Fluorescence intensity and fluorescence lifetime measurements of various carbon dots as a function of pH

Abstract Measurement and monitoring of pH are essential in both the industry and academia. It is therefore important to continue developing novel, low-cost pH sensors that provide increased accuracy over long periods of time. Particularly promising are sensors based on materials that show pH-depende...

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Main Authors: Wiktoria K. Szapoczka, Adam L. Truskewycz, Tore Skodvin, Bodil Holst, Peter J. Thomas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2023-06-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-37578-z
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author Wiktoria K. Szapoczka
Adam L. Truskewycz
Tore Skodvin
Bodil Holst
Peter J. Thomas
author_facet Wiktoria K. Szapoczka
Adam L. Truskewycz
Tore Skodvin
Bodil Holst
Peter J. Thomas
author_sort Wiktoria K. Szapoczka
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Measurement and monitoring of pH are essential in both the industry and academia. It is therefore important to continue developing novel, low-cost pH sensors that provide increased accuracy over long periods of time. Particularly promising are sensors based on materials that show pH-dependent fluorescence intensity (FI) and lifetime (FL). Carbon dots (CDs) are emerging as promising candidates because of their low cost, ease of manufacturing, low toxicity, and negligible photobleaching. However, little has been done to quantify the FI and FL values of CDs. Here we report the characterisation of the pH-dependent FI and FL of four novel solvothermal synthesised CDs. The fifth CD is used as a reference sample and was synthesised following a published synthesis. The precursors for the CDs include disperse blue 1 dye, phloroglucinol, m-phenylenediamine (m-PD), N, and N-dimethylformamide (DMF). The average diameter size of the CDs ranges from 1.5 to 15 nm. An excitation wavelength of 452 nm with a bandwidth of 45 nm was used to quantify the fluorescence in the pH range 5–9. Three CDs show a decreasing trend in FI with pH, while two CDs show an increasing trend. None of the CDs shows strong FL dependence. The FL changes around 0.5 ± 0.2 ns across the tested pH range. We suggest that the differences in the fluorescence trends can be attributed to the precursors chosen for synthesising the CDs.
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spelling doaj.art-2cb0f075446b47dbb48162acf3bb79442023-07-02T11:12:59ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-06-0113111110.1038/s41598-023-37578-zFluorescence intensity and fluorescence lifetime measurements of various carbon dots as a function of pHWiktoria K. Szapoczka0Adam L. Truskewycz1Tore Skodvin2Bodil Holst3Peter J. Thomas4Department of Physics and Technology, University of BergenDepartment of Biomedicine, University of BergenDepartment of Chemistry, University of BergenDepartment of Physics and Technology, University of BergenNORCE Norwegian Research Centre ASAbstract Measurement and monitoring of pH are essential in both the industry and academia. It is therefore important to continue developing novel, low-cost pH sensors that provide increased accuracy over long periods of time. Particularly promising are sensors based on materials that show pH-dependent fluorescence intensity (FI) and lifetime (FL). Carbon dots (CDs) are emerging as promising candidates because of their low cost, ease of manufacturing, low toxicity, and negligible photobleaching. However, little has been done to quantify the FI and FL values of CDs. Here we report the characterisation of the pH-dependent FI and FL of four novel solvothermal synthesised CDs. The fifth CD is used as a reference sample and was synthesised following a published synthesis. The precursors for the CDs include disperse blue 1 dye, phloroglucinol, m-phenylenediamine (m-PD), N, and N-dimethylformamide (DMF). The average diameter size of the CDs ranges from 1.5 to 15 nm. An excitation wavelength of 452 nm with a bandwidth of 45 nm was used to quantify the fluorescence in the pH range 5–9. Three CDs show a decreasing trend in FI with pH, while two CDs show an increasing trend. None of the CDs shows strong FL dependence. The FL changes around 0.5 ± 0.2 ns across the tested pH range. We suggest that the differences in the fluorescence trends can be attributed to the precursors chosen for synthesising the CDs.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-37578-z
spellingShingle Wiktoria K. Szapoczka
Adam L. Truskewycz
Tore Skodvin
Bodil Holst
Peter J. Thomas
Fluorescence intensity and fluorescence lifetime measurements of various carbon dots as a function of pH
Scientific Reports
title Fluorescence intensity and fluorescence lifetime measurements of various carbon dots as a function of pH
title_full Fluorescence intensity and fluorescence lifetime measurements of various carbon dots as a function of pH
title_fullStr Fluorescence intensity and fluorescence lifetime measurements of various carbon dots as a function of pH
title_full_unstemmed Fluorescence intensity and fluorescence lifetime measurements of various carbon dots as a function of pH
title_short Fluorescence intensity and fluorescence lifetime measurements of various carbon dots as a function of pH
title_sort fluorescence intensity and fluorescence lifetime measurements of various carbon dots as a function of ph
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-37578-z
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