One-pot solid phase pyrolysis synthesis of nitrogen-doped carbon dots for Fe3+ sensing and bioimaging

Highly fluorescent nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N-C dots) were prepared by an one-pot solid phase pyrolysis method using guanidinium chloride and citric acid as the catalyst, nitrogen and carbon source without any solvents. The synthesized N-C dots emitted intense blue fluorescence with high photostability and stability in high ionic strength. Under optimal conditions, determination for Fe3+could be completed in 10 min with a wide linearity from 0 to 200 μM and a detection limit of 100 nM. The proposed method showed potential applications for Fe3+ detection in real samples. Moreover, the N-C dots were explored for cell imaging with excellent biocompatibility and stability, suggesting their great potential in bioimaging.