Cite this article as: |
Qiang Ge, Wen-hui Kong, Xin-qian Liu, Ying-min Wang, Li-feng Wang, Ning Ma, and Yan Li, Hydroxylated graphene quantum dots as fluorescent probes for sensitive detection of metal ions, Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., 27(2020), No. 1, pp. 91-99. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-019-1908-4 |
Highly sensitive methods are important for monitoring the concentration of metal ions in industrial wastewater. Here, we developed a new probe for the determination of metal ions by fluorescence quenching. The probe consists of hydroxylated graphene quantum dots (H-GQDs), prepared from GQDs by electrochemical method followed by surface hydroxylation. It is a non-reactive indicator with high sensitivity and detection limits of 0.01 μM for Cu2+, 0.005 μM for Al3+, 0.04 μM for Fe3+, and 0.02 μM for Cr3+. In addition, the low biotoxicity and excellent solubility of H-GQDs make them promising for application in wastewater metal ion detection.
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