Cane Molasses Derived N-Doped Graphene Quantum Dots: Dynamic Quenching Synergistically Photoinduced Electron Transfer for the Instant Detection of Nitrofuran Antibiotics.

The development of a highly selective, simple, and rapid detection method for nitrofuran antibiotics (NFs) is of great significance for food safety, environmental protection, and human health. To meet these needs, in this work, cyan-color highly fluorescent N-doped graphene quantum dots (N-GQDs) were synthesized using cane molasses as the carbon source and ethylenediamine as the nitrogen source. The synthesized N-GQDs have an average particle size of 6 nm, a high fluorescence intensity with 9 times that of undoped GQDs, and a high quantum yield (24.4%) which is more than 6 times that of GQDs (3.9%). A fluorescence sensor based on N-GQDs for the detection of NFs was established. The sensor shows advantages of fast detection, high selectivity, and sensitivity. The limit of detection for furazolidone (FRZ) was 0.29 µM, the limit of quantification (LOQ) was 0.97 µM, and the detection range was 5-130 µM. The fluorescence quenching mechanism of the sensor was explored by fluorescence spectroscopy, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, Stern-Volmer quenching constant, Zeta potential, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry. A fluorescence quenching mechanism of dynamic quenching synergized with photoinduced electron transfer was revealed. The developed sensor was also successfully applied for detecting FRZ in various real samples, and the results were satisfactory.

Preparation of PVDF/Hyperbranched-Nano-Palygorskite Composite Membrane for Efficient Removal of Heavy Metal Ions.

In this work, three kinds of hyperbranched polyamidoamine-palygorskite (PAMAM-Pal) were designed and synthesized by grafting the first generation polyamidoamine (G1.0 PAMAM), G2.0 PAMAM and G3.0 PAMAM onto Pal surfaces, respectively. Then, these PAMAM-Pals were used as additives to prepare polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)/hyperbranched polyamidoamine-palygorskite bicomponent composite membranes. The structures of the composite membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermo gravimetric analysis (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field-emission scanning electronmicroscopy (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM) and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The adsorption properties of composite membranes to heavy metal ions was studied, and the results found that the maximum adsorption capacities for Cu(II), Ni(II) and Cd(II) could reach 155.19 mg/g, 124.28 mg/g and 125.55 mg/g, respectively, for the PVDF/G3.0 PAMAM-Pal membrane, while only 23.70 mg/g, 17.74 mg/g and 14.87 mg/g could be obtained for unmodified membranes in the same conditions. The high adsorption capacity can be ascribed to the large number of amine-terminated groups, amide groups and carbonyl groups of the composite membrane. The above results indicated that the prepared composite membrane has a high adsorption capacity for heavy metal ions removal in water treatment.