Chlorine triggered de-alloying of AuAg@Carbon nanodots: Towards fabrication of a dual signalling assay combining the plasmonic property of bimetallic alloy nanoparticles and photoluminescence of carbon nanodots

Integration of Au-Ag alloy and fluorescent carbon nanodots (C-dots) into a single platform resulted in a new dual sensing assay for chlorine. Selective etching of Ag from AuAg@C-dots was transformed into: (i) colorimetric signal by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) tuning of the alloy and (ii) fluorimetric signal by perturbation of fluorescence energy transfer between C-dots and alloy nanoparticles. Fast oxidizing of silver atoms incorporated in the bimetallic structure induced by chlorine resulted in selective de-alloying of bimetallic hybrid nanoparticles and an intense visible change of the colloidal dispersion color. On the other hand, the systematic change in Au/Ag ratio strongly affected the emission intensity of C-dots in the hybrid structure leading to an enhancement in the fluorescence signal. Thus, the assay enables the detection of chlorine both under visible and UV lights with high sensitivity. The detection limit (DL) values were calculated as 6.2 × 10⁻⁷ M and 5.1 × 10⁻⁷ M through colorimetric and fluorimetric pathways, respectively. Most importantly, it was demonstrated to be selective over common cations, anions and some reactive oxygen species (ROS). This assay was successfully applied to the determination of chlorine concentration in bleach solution and tap water. It is robust and is suitable for cost effective chlorine measurement in environmental samples. - Highlights: • A new dual signalling assay for hypochlorite ion is introduced. • Bimetallic Au-Ag nanoparticles are hybridized with fluorescent carbon nanodots. • It shows amplified colorimetric response with respect to monometallic counterparts. • This sensor is multifunctional, robust, rapid and sensitive. • The practical applicability is investigated for environmental monitoring.