High-Yield Production of Water-Soluble MoS<sub>2</sub> Quantum Dots for Fe<sup>3+</sup> Detection and Cell Imaging
Benhua Xu,
Zhiqi Zhang,
Peng Zhang,
Li Wang,
Rui Yuan,
Zhenghua Ju,
Weisheng Liu
Affiliations
Benhua Xu
Chemical Engineering College, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
Zhiqi Zhang
Chemical Engineering College, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
Peng Zhang
Qinghai Provincial Engineering Research Center of High-Performance Light Metal Alloys and Forming, Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of New Light Alloys, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
Li Wang
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xi’ an Shiyou University, Xi’an 710065, China
Rui Yuan
Chemical Engineering College, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
Zhenghua Ju
Key Laboratory of Nonferrous Metals Chemistry and Resources Utilization of Gansu Province and State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Weisheng Liu
Key Laboratory of Nonferrous Metals Chemistry and Resources Utilization of Gansu Province and State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Uniform water-soluble MoS2 quantum dots (WS-MSQDs) were synthesized via a sequential combination of sintering/etching/exfoliation method and solvothermal route. The obtained WS-MSQDs with average size of approximately 3.4 nm exhibited sufficient water solubility and remarkable fluorescence properties. The WS-MSQDs were utilized as a probe for detection of Fe3+ ions with high selectivity and specificity. Furthermore, the WS-MSQDs exhibited high fluorescence stability under different conditions. Finally, the WS-MSQDs were successfully applied for the fluorescence imaging of Fe3+ in living cells, which exhibited practical potential for biomedical applications.
