Future Perspectives and Review on Organic Carbon Dots in Electronic Applications

Abstract

Over the span of the past decade, carbon dots (CDs) synthesized from renewable organic resources (organic CDs) have gathered a considerable amount of attention for their photoluminescent properties. This review will focus on organic CDs synthesized using clean chemistry and conventional synthetic chemistry from organic sources and their fluorescence mechanisms, such as quantum confinement effect and surface/edge defects, before outlining their performance in electronic applications, including organic photovoltaic devices, organic light-emitting devices, biosensors, supercapacitors, and batteries. The various organic resources and methods of organic CDs synthesis are briefly covered. Many challenges remain before the adoption of CDs can become widespread; their characterization, structure, functionality, and exact photoluminescent mechanism all require additional research. This review aims to summarize the current research outcomes and highlight the area where further research is needed to fully use these materials.

PMMA Thin Film with Embedded Carbon Quantum Dots for Post-Fabrication Improvement of Light Harvesting in Perovskite Solar Cells

“…Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) with excellent fluorescent properties absorb UV light and re-emit in the visible light range. Such a unique optical property of CQDs combined with their low-cost synthesis, non-toxicity, and chemical inertness make them very attractive for electronics, sensing, and bioimaging applications [5][6][7]. For example, carbon and graphene quantum dots were utilized recently for light management in silicon-based solar cells [8,9].…”

Contribution of Carbon Dot Nanoparticles in Electrocatalysis: Development in Energy Conversion Process

“…CND particles are spherical in shape and consist sp 2 /sp 3 hybridized carbon core and high oxygen content. CND particles have amorphous nature with no crystal plane, but when crystallinity is present with a lattice parameter of ~0.24 nm, the particles are termed as carbon quantum dots (CQDs) [22]. The photoluminescent origin of CND and CQD particles vary.…”

“…GQD particles overcame the limitations of graphene sheets and are proved to be efficient material for photovoltaics, bio-applications, imaging, devices etc. Figure 2 shows the classification of CD particles [22].…”

“…Three types of CDs and their structures graphene quantum dots (GQDs), carbon nanodots (CNDs), and polymer dots (PDs). Reprinted with permission from Reference[22]. Copyright © 2019 American Chemical Society.…”

Editorial: Carbon Catalysis: Focus on Sustainable Chemical Technology

“…Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) (Semeniuk et al, 2019) are novel zero-dimensional carbon-based nanomaterials known for their quantum-size effect and the relatively strong fluorescence characteristics. Graphene quantum dots (GQDs), carbon nanodots (CNDs), and polymer dots (PDs) are key members in this family (Zhu et al, 2015).…”