Ixora coccinea flower-derived green luminescent carbon quantum dots for Fe3+ recognition and preparation of Pd nanoparticles for the Suzuki–Miyaura coupling and cyanation process†

The solvothermal method of producing spherically shaped and highly fluorescent tiny (∼3 nm) nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (NCQDs) with high quantum yield (43%) from Ixora coccinea flowers and o-phenylenediamine has been approached sustainably. Since these NCQDs exhibit excitation-dependent fluorescence activity, they were used to detect the Fe³⁺ ion selectively in real-time in human blood serum, because it is a component of human blood. The limit of detection (LOD) of the NCQDs was found to be 60 nM. We also synthesized palladium nanoparticles utilizing the NCQDs without additional reducing or stabilizing agents because these quantum dots serve as both. Numerous characterization techniques were used to characterize the nanoparticles, and all the characterizations showed the presence of NCQDs, which stabilize the nanoparticles. Palladium nanoparticles’ small size (4 nm) and large surface area (35.77 m² g⁻¹) enable them to exhibit strong catalytic activity in Suzuki–Miyaura coupling and cyanation processes. It is obvious that synthetic palladium nanoparticles and NCQDs have a variety of uses in the fields of catalysis and sensing respectively.