Novel Hg (II) selective fluorescent green sensor based on carbon dots synthesized from starch and functionalized with methimazole

Abstract

We describe a green new method for the synthesis of water-soluble photoluminescent carbon dots (CDs) that were functionalized with methimazole (MTZ) and applied to determine Hg2+ based on the fluorescence extinction. Starch obtained from rice was used as a natural source for the production of CDs by hydrothermal treatment. Also, it was proposed a factorial design to optimize the parameters for CD synthesis and the results showed that the luminescence intensity is a function of temperature and not of the heating time in the hydrothermal process. The synthesized CDs were characterized using fluorescence techniques, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and UV–Vis spectroscopy. Through transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS), it was found the formation of CDs on a nanometer scale with an average size of 11 nm. The functionalization with MTZ, eliminated all interferences from other metals, indicating a selective response to Hg2+ ions. The method was applied to Hg2+ determination in waters. Under optimal conditions, was obtained a limit of detection of 1.8 × 10−7 mol L−1 with a linear range from 3.3 × 10−7 to 50.0 × 10−6 mol L−1. Therefore, the proposed method can be considered a simple, selective, and precise alternative that minimizes the number of reagents used for Hg2+ determination in natural waters, and can be applied on a large scale in environmental analyzes.

Keywords

• Carbon dots
• Mercury(II)
• Methimazole
• Starch
• Water