Synthesis of water-soluble fluorescence sensors is at most important towards the
sensing of metal ions. Carbon dots (CDs) synthesized from natural sources and waste
materials are not only water-soluble but also effective in sensing of metal ions selectively.
Carbon dots synthesized from biological sources have attracted much interest in
bioimaging and biomedical applications due to their excellent biocompatibility. In this talk
we will explore the synthesis of carbon dots from natural sources like algal blooms1 and
jackfruit seeds2 and their application in vitro cell imaging and the fluorimetric detection of
Au3+ ions and in aqueous medium.
Functionalization and doping of carbon dots also play a role in the selectivity of
sensing and its reactivity. Different functionalization has been designed based on their
sources and method of synthesis. A multifunctionalised and nitrogen-doped carbon obtained
from styrene waste material3 have been demonstrated to send gold ion in aqueous solution.
A multifunctionalised carbon dot synthesized from itaconic acid has been
demonstrated4 to sense Fe3+ ion in water. A bi-functional carbon dot synthesized in a dialysis
free approach has been demonstrated to donor-acceptor property, which can find an
application in energy conversion5.
1. V.Ramanan, S.K.Thiagarajan, K.Raji, R.Suresh, R.Sekar and P.Ramamurthy, ACS
Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering 4(9), 4724-4731, 2016.
2. K.Raji, V.Ramanan and P.Ramamurthy, New Journal of Chemistry 43 (29), 11710-
11719, 2019.
3. V.Ramanan, B.Siddaih, K.Raji and P.Ramamurthy, ACS Sustainable Chemistry and
Engineering 6(2), 1627-1638, 2018.
4. V.Ramanan, S.H.Subray and P.Ramamurthy, New Journal of Chemistry, 42(11),
8933-8942, 2018.
5. V.Ramanan, J.Amirthasurya, K.Raji, S.K. Thiagarajan and P.Ramamurthy, J. Indian
Chem.Soc., 95, 1587-1596, 2018.