A Tunable Multicolor Photoluminescent Nanocarbon Prepared from Castor Oil Soot

Abstract

We herein report a straightforward soot‐based synthesis and characterization of the negatively charged, hydrophilic, photoluminescent nanocarbon. The photoluminescent nanocarbon was prepared by refluxing castor oil soot in nitric acid. The as‐obtained fluorescent nanocarbon shows multiple colors under UV exposure and was characterized with surface morphological and spectral studies. Additionally, the photoluminescence nature of the nanocarbon was tunable by changing the pH or the dilution factor. During the course of the investigation, it has been found that, the photoluminescence nature observed here is not attributed to the presence of poly aromatic hydrocarbons, but solely due to the trait of the fluorescent nanocarbon. These results indicate that interparticle surface plasmon resonance plays a key role in the exhibition of photoluminescence. Furthermore, the feasibility of photoluminescent nanocarbon as a plausible tool for cell imaging and electrochemical application of the oxidized nanocarbon has also been examined.

Order fluctuation induced tunable light emission from carbon nanosystem

“…Carbon and its allotropes possessing exciting luminescence properties have gained attention of researchers due to its ease of processing, biocompatibility, abundance, low cost, and greater stability [23][24][25]. These properties make it a potential candidate in the development of phosphor-free light emitters [1,23,24].…”