Dielectric barrier discharge-accelerated one-pot synthesis of sulfur quantum dots for fluorescent sensing of lead ions and L-cysteine.

Here, we report a novel method for the one-pot facile synthesis of sulfur quantum dots (SQDs) based on a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD)-accelerated H 2 O 2 etching strategy within merely 20 min. The formation mechanism of SQDs was investigated, with which an "ON-OFF-ON" fluorescence sensor was developed for the detection of Pb 2+ ions and L-cysteine.