Peroxyoxalate/carbon dots chemiluminescent reaction for fluorescent and visual determination of Fe3+

A visible luminous sensing platform was studied by using peroxyoxalate-based chemiluminescent (PO CL) system and fluorescent carbon dots (CDs). The new CDs were synthesized by hydrothermal treatment of red pitaya, which owned abundant O-related surface functional groups and thus displayed high sensitivity and selectivity toward Fe3+ ion. Based on peroxyoxalate/carbon dots chemiluminescent (PO/CDs CL) reaction, a visible luminous sensing platform was constructed, in which CDs acted as capturers and emitters for Fe3+ identification and luminescence signal. Using this technique, a trace of Fe3+ ion can be simply and efficiently distinguished without instrumental assistance. It turns out that the proposed method has good sensitivity, selectivity and potential application in sensing.