Potato starch derived N-doped carbon quantum dots as a fluorescent sensing tool for ascorbic acid

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs), as a specific group of nanocarbons, are garnering popularity as a potential optical sensing material due to their unique properties. In the current study, with the use of ultrasonication, potato starch is used as source for carbon and ethylenediamine used as nitrogen source to generate nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots in one phase. This method is both environmentally friendly and cost-effective. A considerable quantum yield (QY) of 49.26 % and exhibited a blue fluorescence was observed in the prepared N-CQDs. Under optimum conditions, ascorbic acid (AA) can be added to N-CQDs may promote aggregation and electron transfer due to the interaction between the hydrogen bonds in the N-CQDs and the AA, which may result in fluorescence quenching. With a limit of detection (0.093 µM), fluorescence quenching between N-CQDs and AA concentration, was found to be perfectly linear in the range 0–130 µM was observed. Moreover, a practical application for AA detection on vitamin C tablets was performed, and the outcomes revealed a tremendous recovery rate. As a result, this work provides a realistic possibility for deploying a vitamin C sensor.