Efficient ethanol solvothermal synthesis of high-performance nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots from lignin for metal ion nanosensing and cell imaging

The preparation of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) with excellent photoluminescence (PL) properties from biomass is a hot research topic. Herein, nitrogen-doped CQDs (N-CQDs) from lignin (C-source) using diethylenetriamine (DETA) as an N-source were synthesized via a facile, green, and large-scale solvothermal approach. The as-synthesized N-CQDs in ethanol (N-CQDs-ET) exhibit unique structures with abundant N-doping (~7.2%), rich functional groups (especially C O and pyrrolic-N), high degree of graphitization, and uniform particle size (~5.0 nm). The N-CQDs-ET have excellent QL properties with high quantum yield, superior fluorescence stability, and long fluorescence lifetime, all of which are much better than N-CQDs obtained from a traditional hydrothermal process. The N-CQDs-ET display excellent sensitivity for Fe 3+ and Co 2+ detection with a good linear correlation ranging from 0.27 to 250 μM and 0.45–500 μM, respectively. In addition, the N-CQDs-ET exhibit excellent biocompatibility and multicolored cell imaging ability, showing great potential applications in biosensors. • Lignin derived N-CQDs are efficiently produced via ethanol solvothermal approach. • N-CQDs produced in ethanol have excellent QL properties due to unique structures. • N-CQDs produced in ethanol have better QL properties than those in hot water. • The N-CQDs-ET sample displays excellent sensitivity for Fe 3+ and Co 2+ detection. • N-CQDs-ET sample has great biocompatibility and cell multicolored imaging ability.