Green preparation of carbon dots by Jinhua bergamot for sensitive and selective fluorescent detection of Hg 2+ and Fe 3+

An environmental-friendly and low-cost hydrothermal method was developed for synthesis of water-soluble fluorescent C-dots with Jinhua bergamot as a carbon source. The fluorescence of the C-dots can be served as a fluorescent probe for the detection of Hg2+ or Fe3+ with high sensitivity and selectivity, respectively.