Table sugar derived Carbon dot – a naked eye sensor for toxic Pb2+ ions

The fabrication of carbon dots through an easy and economic synthetic strategy is reported herein, using table sugar as the precursor. The synthesis route adopted is entirely devoid of chemical modifications/post-chemical treatments. Visible aggregation of table sugar derived carbon dots in presence of Pb (II) ions leads to a novel method of identification of these toxic ions by naked eye. A simple turbidimeter could quantify the amount of Pb (II) in parts per billion (ppb) levels with extra ordinary selectivity. The limit of detection (LOD) achieved by this method is 14 ppb, which is highly remarkable in view of the permissible amount of Pb (II) ions in drinking water (15 ppb), as prescribed by U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).The facile synthesis of carbon dots as well as simple and fast Pb (II) sensing strategy with admirably low limit of detection are the highlights of the present work.