Biocompatible Carbon Quantum Dots Derived from Sugarcane Industrial Wastes for Effective Nonlinear Optical Behavior and Antimicrobial Activity Applications

Abstract

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.

St. John's Wort (Hypericum Perforatum L.) Flower Based Carbon/Graphene Quantum Dot Structure Production and Characterization for Bioimaging and Drug Delivery Systems

“…We see the C-N stretching peak around ~ 1327 cm -1 and the peak belonging to the C-O stretch vibration at 1029 cm -1 . All these comments are consistent with the FTIR comments of Pandiyan et al (Pandiyan et al, 2020). Hypericum perforatum L. flower sample carbonized in XRD results shows similar structure to the crude Hypericum perforatum L. flower sample.…”

Carbon Dots as an Emergent Class of Antimicrobial Agents

“…Nitrogen (as well as different heteroatoms such as P, O, and S) has also been incorporated during the CD synthesis using a mixture of different starting materials [ 61 ]. For example, the addition of polyamines [ 16 , 62 ], amino acids [ 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 ], or biomass such as plant leaves and fungi [ 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 ], food [ 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 ], and industrial [ 80 ] and waste derivatives [ 81 , 82 ], among others, have been used for the preparation of doped CDs. In this context, two independent comparative studies from the Kang [ 83 ] and Bandosz [ 84 ] research groups highlighted that N- or S-doped CDs exhibit very different antibacterial properties.…”

Doping and Surface Modification of Carbon Quantum Dots for Enhanced Functionalities and Related Applications

“…Nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of CQDs have been unraveled theoretically by DFT studies. [ 128,147 ] The stability and electronic properties of these systems have been studied by implementing electronic polarizability as well as the first‐order and second‐order hyperpolarizability calculations. A negative value of cohesive energy implies the stability of the system and the type of doping whether in‐plane/out‐of‐plane.…”