In this work, the green synthesis of highly fluorescent carbon quantum dots (CQDs) with an efficient quantum yield of 17.98% using sugarcane bagasse pulp as the precursor was conducted by a hydrothermal technique. The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed that the CQDs were competently monodispersed with the particle size ranging between 0.75 and 2.75 nm. The structural properties of CQDs were investigated using X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses. The UV–visible spectrum showed two absorption peaks due to the aromatic CC transitions of π–π* and CO transitions of n−π*. The fluorescence spectrum of CQDs displayed a strong blue emission. However, the first-ever of its kind, sugarcane industrial solid waste carbon quantum dots caused significant orders to obey the enhancement of the third-order nonlinearity (χ(3)) when compared with other carbon dots (CDs). The calculated nonlinear optical (NLO) parameters such as n 2, β, and χ(3) were 1.012 × 10–8 cm2/W, 2.513 × 10–4, and 3.939 × 10–7 esu, respectively. The figures of merit were evaluated to be W = 6.6661 and T = 0.0132, which greatly fulfilled the optical switching conditions. Besides, the antibacterial activities of CQDs were screened against aquatic Gram-positive (Benthesicymus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Vibrio cholerae, and Escherichia coli) microbial organisms. Our findings, however, indicate that synergistic sugarcane industrial waste CQDs are promising materials for the functioning of NLO devices, bioimaging, and pharmaceutical applications.

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