Highly selective detection of phosphate ion based on a single-layered graphene quantum dots-Al3+ strategy

Determination of phosphate ion (PO43-) is important in biomedical and environmental arrays because its controlling concentrations are associated with different pathologies or the quality of water. Herein, we report a new type of photoluminescence (PL) probe for highly selective detection of PO43- based on a single-layered graphene quantum dots chelating with aluminium ions (s-GQDs-Al3+) system. The PL of s-GQDs can be enhanced by Al3+ through the aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE) effect. With the addition of PO43-, the PL of the s-GQDs-Al3+ system is faded away because PO43- has stronger coordination with Al3+ which results in the elimination of AIEE effect and the decrease in the PL intensity of the s-GQDs-Al3+ system. Therefore, the s-GQDs-Al3+ system can behave as an on-off type PL probe for PO43- detection. It is found that the PL intensity ratio (I/I0) of s-GQDs in the presence of Al3+ at 463nm is proportional to the concentration of PO43- in the range of 0.25–7.5μM with the limit of detection as low as 0.1μM. This selective assay has a great application prospect in the complex matrixes owing to its simplicity and specificity for PO43- detection. Highly selective detection of phosphate ion based on a single-layered graphene quantum dots-aluminium ions (s-GQDs-Al3+) strategy. [Display omitted] •TThe AIEE effect of s-GQDs induced by Al3+ is highly selective, and other metal ions have no effect on s-GQDs.•The s-GQDs-Al3+ system is stable, and is firstly acted as an on-off type fluorescent probe for PO43- detection.•The proposed method is characterized by rapid, low cost and label-free, and has good selectivity and high reproducibility for PO43- detection.