Ionic liquid-functionalized carbon dots with positive surface charge for selective detection of ascorbic acid

Novel ionic liquid-functionalized carbon quantum dots (IL-CDs) were prepared by hydrothermal method, and characterized with FT-IR, TEM and XPS. The IL-CDs exhibited narrower particle size distribution with more uniform dispersion and the surface potential changes from negative to positive due to the function of IL. IL-CDs could be quenched (“turned off”) after adding ascorbic acid (AA), and as an “on–off”, fluorescent probe could be established for direct analysis AA. The linear range of AA was 0.34–30.00 μg/mL and the LOD was 0.11 μg/mL. The method was successfully applied to the determination of AA in real samples with satisfactory results.