N, B-doped carbon dots as a sensitive fluorescence probe for Hg(2+) ions and 2,4,6-trinitrophenol detection for bioimaging.

Nitrogen and boron co-doped carbon dots (BCNDs1-3) were prepared from three kinds of borate via a facile hydrothermal method. The as-prepared BCNDs did not shift with the change of excitation wavelength and possess good water dispersibility, strong fluorescence emission with high fluorescent quantum yield of 29.01%, 51.42%, 68.28%, respectively. Subsequently, these BCNDs were exploited as excellent Hg(2+) ion and 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP) probe. The efficient selective detection of Hg(2+) can be attributed to non-radiative electron/hole recombination annihilation through an effective electron transfer process and the detection of TNP can be attributed to the fluorescence resonance energy transfer process (FRET). The results show that the BCNDs2 is the most sensitive fluorescence probe for Hg(2+) ions and TNP detection as low as Hg(2+) 7.3nM and TNP 0.35μM compared with BCNDs1 and BCNDs3. The as-prepared BCNDs possess the advantages of good selectivity, fast response and a broad linear detection. They were applied to sensing and imaging of human umbilical vein endothelial cells, showing low cytotoxicity and good biocompatibility.