Abstract Carbon dots are emerging in the nanotechnology field as the newest class of fluorescent probes, owing to their high water-solubility, good chemical and photo-stability and tunable photoluminescence. The ability of metal cations to quench carbon dots fluorescence is already well known. Anyway, a dedicated study directed to the rational design of the optimal carbon dot probe is still missing. Herein we present a novel synthetic method for the production of carbon nanodots from an economic and environmental polluting starting material: olive solid wastes. The obtained carbon dots are efficiently quenched in presence of Fe3+, allowing the cation detection. Starting from a comprehensive study on their quenching mechanism, we have been able to develop effective strategies to modulate the sensing properties of these carbon dots. The sensitivity and linear range of the probe have been tuned by modulating the surface functionalization of the nanoparticles. The selectivity toward Fe3+ has been improved by growing around the dots a porous microsphere of ion imprinted polymer. The results highlighted in this work demonstrate that the carbon dots sensing properties can be modulated to meet the requirement of the users, allowing the design of tailored probes for a wide range of applications.

中文翻译：

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定制从橄榄固体废物中获得的碳纳米点的传感能力

摘要 碳点由于具有高水溶性、良好的化学和光稳定性以及可调谐的光致发光，成为纳米技术领域的最新一类荧光探针。金属阳离子淬灭碳点荧光的能力是众所周知的。无论如何，仍然缺少针对最佳碳点探针的合理设计的专门研究。在此，我们提出了一种从经济和环境污染的起始材料橄榄固体废物生产碳纳米点的新合成方法。所获得的碳点在 Fe3+ 存在下被有效淬灭，从而可以进行阳离子检测。从对其淬火机制的全面研究开始，我们已经能够开发出有效的策略来调节这些碳点的传感特性。探针的灵敏度和线性范围已通过调节纳米颗粒的表面功能化进行了调整。通过在点周围生长离子印迹聚合物的多孔微球，提高了对 Fe3+ 的选择性。这项工作中突出显示的结果表明，可以调节碳点传感特性以满足用户的要求，从而允许为广泛的应用设计定制的探针。