Dr Kirkland Sheriff - Clemson University

Carbon dot-like nanohybrids for fluorescence sensing of hazardous materials

The detection of hazardous materials via spectroscopic means demands a sensing material that is capable of high sensitivity, with one highly sensitive spectroscopic technique being fluorescence sensing. This sensing technique builds from an emissive species being affected by the targeted analyte, commonly through altering the fluorescence intensity. The targeted analytes can vary from ions to molecules, so building a platform which can be flexible for sensing a variety of targets should be prioritised.  

Carbon dots (CDots) and their related materials (namely nano–carbon/organic hybrids, or simply hybrids) are a class of nanomaterials with rich structural variability and have found a variety of applications. Classically, CDots are defined as a small carbon nanoparticle (often less than 10 nm in diameter) with effective surface passivation, which is commonly achieved via surface functionalisation. The characteristic properties of CDots are their bright and colourful fluorescence emissions that are excitation wavelength dependent. Since the first report in 2006 on their finding, there has been a wide variety of synthetic protocols reported for the preparation of CDots – like nano–carbon/organic hybrids. These materials share optical spectroscopic properties with CDots but differ in sample structures.  

This project leverages fluorescent nano–carbon/organic hybrids for their sensing ability of hazardous materials such as nitroaromatic compounds. The hybrid materials were investigated for their sensing ability across different excitation wavelengths over the visible spectrum. The results suggest good sensitivity across the excitation wavelengths, demonstrating one of the inherent flexibilities associated with these carbon nanomaterial–based sensing materials. The ongoing effort of this project is to exploit fully the excellent sensing capabilities of the CDots–like nanomaterials for the detection and quantification of other targeted hazardous materials and/or their signatures. 

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