The catalyzed luminol chemiluminescence (CL) in a strongly alkaline
environment has been rarely induced by singlet oxygen (1O2). This paper reports that cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide
passivated carbon nanodots (CTAB-CDs), prepared by the hydrothermal
treatment of fullerene in the presence of CTAB, can be used as excellent
catalysts to dramatically enhance the CL intensity of the luminol–H2O2 system in NaOH medium owing to their unique
surface property. More importantly, this CL enhancement takes place
mainly through the intermediate of 1O2, which
follows a different mechanism from traditional reports. The CL spectra,
UV–vis spectra, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra,
transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images before and after the
CL reaction, and the effects of various free radical scavengers on
the CL intensity were conducted to identify the possible 1O2-participating CL enhancement mechanism. It was demonstrated
that the CL enhancement by CTAB-CDs originated from the processes
of the catalysis of CDs on the electron-transfer and the breakdown
of H2O2. Both processes produced a great amount
of 1O2 on the surface of CTAB-CDs, and then
the reaction of 1O2 with luminol resulted in
an unstable endoperoxide, which could rapidly decompose into the excited
state 3-aminophthalate anions (3-APA*), leading to the enhanced CL
at 440 nm. The important features of this CDs-catalyzed CL will not
only enrich traditional luminol CL mechanism in strongly alkaline
conditions but also open up a new route to study this novel carbon
nanomaterial, which may broaden the applications in a large variety
of fields.