A Fluorescent g-C3N4 Nanosensor for Detection of Dichromate Ions

Background: Dichromate (Cr2O72-) ion is one of the carcinogenic and toxic spices in environment which can easily contaminate the environment due to its high solubility in water. Therefore, a lot of attention has been focused on the detection of Cr2O72- with high sensitivity and selectivity. Methods: In present work, nitrogen-rich precursor was used for synthesizing graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanostructures through hydrothermal oxidation of g-C3N4 nanosheets. The prepared nanostructures show two distinct fluorescence emissions centered at 368 and 450 nm which are highly sensitive toward Cr2O72- ions. Results: The as-prepared g-C3N4 was characterized by several techniques such as Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and fluorescence emission spectra. The XRD pattern of prepared nanostructures illustrated two diffraction patterns (at 13.4 degrees and 27.6 degrees) indicating tri-s-tri-azine-based structures. The g-C3N4 exhibited good selectivity and sensitivity toward Cr2O72- among other anions. According to titration test, the detection limit and stern-volmer constant (Ksv) were calculated as 40 nM and 0.13x10(6) M-1, respectively. The investigation of quenching mechanism shows that Cr2O72- may form hydrogen bonding with surface groups of g-C3N4 (such as NH2, OH and COOH) resulted in more fluorescence quenching in comparison with the pure inner filter effect. Conclusion: The g-C3N4 nanostructures were successfully synthesized through the hydrothermal oxidation. The as-prepared g-C3N4 can be used as a highly sensitive fluorescent probe for the selective determination of Cr2O72 ion among other anions. The quenching mechanism was experimentally studied. According to reliable responses in real sample tests, it can be proposed that g-C3N4 nanostructure is a suitable sensitive nanosensor for detection of Cr2O72 ions in aqueous media.