A Novel Green Synthesized Carbon Dots for the Detection of Organophosphate Pesticides in Fruits and Vegetables

Green synthesized carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are successfully applied for the detection of organophosphate pesticides in fruits and vegetables. The banana fruit is used as a carbon source for the synthesis of CQDs via a one-pot hydrothermal route. The quenching in emission intensity of the synthesized carbon dots (CQDs) is observed for organophosphate pesticides (OPPS) in sample water. The hydroxyl and carboxylic functional groups over the surface of carbon dots exhibited a high binding affinity for detecting organophosphate pesticides. The amine group of Parathion was easily interacted with carboxylic group of CQDs which causes the fluorescence quenching via inner filter effect. The quenching in fluorescence intensity of CQDs was used to measure the inhibitory efficiency of OPPS. The quenching efficiency was proportional to the concentration of Parathion observed in sample water in the range of 0 to 500 nM under optimal conditions, with a detection limit of 12 nM. Moreover, the easy-to-use method had been used to detect Parathion in agricultural and environmental samples.