Carbon Dot-based Sensing Strategy and Mechanism

Abstract

Carbon dots (CDs) have garnered extreme interest owing to their fascinating optical, catalytic and electrochemical properties. For example, CDs can emit fluorescence, phosphorescence, and chemiluminescence upon irradiation with an appropriate light or being subject to a chemical reaction. In addition, CDs possess peroxidase-like catalytic activities and extremely high conductivity. These superior properties render them appealing for designing various sensors with wide-ranging applications. The emerging optical sensing mechanisms focus on Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), inner filter effect (IFE), photo-induced electron transfer (PIET), static quenching effect (SQE), and dynamic quenching effect (DQE), while most of the sensing strategies rely on the turn-off response mode. Novel sensing mechanisms such as aggregation induced emission (AIE) may provide a promising candidate for improving the signal-to-noise ratios through designing a turn-on response mode.