Detection and adsorption of 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid in vegetables via dual-functional molecularly imprinted polymer doping with carbon dot

2-Methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) is one of the most widely used herbicides, so adsorption and detection of MCPA in the environment is critical. Blue fluorescent carbon dot (CD) was synthesized from citric acid and urea, which could be quenched by MCPA. Herein, bifunctional molecularly imprinted polymer (CD@MIP) was prepared on monodisperse poly (glycidyl methacrylate- co -ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) microspheres, with 4-vinylpyridine as the functional monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as the cross-linking agent, and doped with CD. The enrichment ability of CD@MIP for MCPA and fluorescence detection performance were determined. The maximum adsorption amount of MCPA was 93.9 mg g −1 as determined by isothermal adsorption experiments and was in accordance with the Langmuir adsorption model. The results of the kinetic experiments showed that the adsorption equilibrium reached within 30 min, which possessed a relatively fast adsorption rate and was in accordance with the pseudo-second-order adsorption model. Both MIP without CD and non-imprinted polymers were also fabricated and tested as references. Fluorescence experiments showed good linearity of CD@MIP in the range of 0–80 μmol. The cabbage samples were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography with a linear range of 0.02–15 μg mL −1 , recoveries of 90.5%–98% and low relative standard deviations (RSD, n = 3) of 1.5%–5.9%. CD@MIP with excellent performance provides a feasible practical application in the detection and enrichment of MCPA.