Electrochemical Synthesis of Carbon Nanodots Directly from Alcohols

Abstract

Carbon nanodots (C-dots) show great potential as an important material for biochemical sensing, energy conversion, photocatalysis, and optoelectronics because of their water solubility, chemical inertness, low toxicity, and photo- and electronic properties. Numerous methods have been proposed for the preparation of C-dots. However, complex procedures and strong acid treatments are often required, and the as-prepared C-dots tend to be of low quality, and in particular, have a low efficiency for photoluminescence. Herein, a facile and general strategy involving the electrochemical carbonization of low-molecular-weight alcohols is proposed. As precursors, the alcohols transited into carbon-containing particles after electrochemical carbonization under basic conditions. The resultant C-dots exhibit excellent excitation- and size-dependent fluorescence without the need for complicated purification and passivation procedures. The sizes of the as-prepared C-dots can be adjusted by varying the applied potential. High-quality C-dots are prepared successfully from different small molecular alcohols, suggesting that this research provides a new, highly universal method for the preparation of fluorescent C-dots. In addition, luminescence microscopy of the C-dots is demonstrated in human cancer cells. The results indicate that the as-prepared C-dots have low toxicity and can be used in imaging applications.

Large‐Area Carbon Nanosheets Doped with Phosphorus: A High‐Performance Anode Material for Sodium‐Ion Batteries

“…Moreover, these solutions are uniform, transparent, and stable, which may facilitate the application of CDs in more fields. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS, Figure 2 a,b) and Fourier transform infrared spectrum (FTIR, Figure 2c) reveal that the CDs contain rich oxygenous functional groups, such as C=O and C—OH, which might be in favor of its surface functionalization 16. The X‐ray diffraction (XRD) pattern (Figure 2d) with a broad peak centered at about 20° suggests the highly amorphous structure of obtained CDs.…”

Comparative study for N and S doped carbon dots: Synthesis, characterization and applications for Fe3+ probe and cellular imaging

“…5B-D), the λ em are red-shifted for the three CDs when the λ ex moves from 280 to 480 nm. It exhibits the typical λ ex -dependent PL behavior of CDs [61]. The insets of Fig Furthermore, the Φ s of undoped-CDs, N-CDs and S-CDs were determined at λ ex /λ em of 360/380-680 nm.…”

Carbon Quantum Dots: A Component of Efficient Visible Light Photocatalysts

“…Carbonization reaction can be applied to various kinds of molecules, followed by aggregation in solution to produce CQDs. Pulsed laser irradiation of toluene [17], hydrothermal treatment of citric acid [18], electrochemical carbonization of low-molecular-weight alcohols [19] and microwave-assisted pyrolysis of citric acid formamide solution [20] have already been utilized for the preparation of CQDs. Recently, biomass molecules, such as sucrose [21], glucose [22], cellulose [23] and amino acid [24], have attracted great attentions as suitable precursors for the preparation of CQDs via dehydrate and further carbonize.…”