Non-Enzymatic-Browning-Reaction: A Versatile Route for Production of Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Dots with Tunable Multicolor Luminescent Display

Abstract

The non-enzymatic browning, namely Maillard reaction is commonly invoked to account for abiotic chemical transformations of organic matter. Here we report a new reaction pathway via the Maillard reaction to systematically synthesize a series of nitrogen-doped carbon dots (C-dots) with superhigh quantum yield (QY) and tunable multicolor luminescent displayment. The starting materials are glucose and the serial amino acid analogues which allow systemically controlling luminescent and physicochemical properties of C-dots at will. Unexpectedly, the as-prepared C-dots possess bright photoluminescence with QY up to 69.1% which is almost the highest ever reported, favorable biocompatibility, excellent aqueous and nonaqueous dispersibility, ultrahigh photostability, and readily functionalization. We have demonstrated that they are particularly suitable for multicolor luminescent display and long-term and real-time cellular imaging. Furthermore, the methodology is readily scalable to large yield, and can provide sufficient amount of C-dots for practical demands.

Towards efficient photoinduced charge separation in carbon nanodots and TiO2 composites in the visible region

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Especially, CDs, owing to their superior performance in terms of water solubility, stability, toxicity, resistance to photobleaching, and biocompatibility, have recently drawn significant attention. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15] The electron injection from CDs to TiO 2 was demonstrated to be feasible and the CD-sensitized TiO 2 photoelectrodes have been applied in photocatalysis and PVs.…”

Carbon Dots and 9AA as a Binary Matrix for the Detection of Small Molecules by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry

“…In contrast, graphene and carbon nanotube exhibited higher sensitivity, but their poor dispersibility in aqueous solution decreased the spot-to-spot reproducibility, and the ionization efficiency was often affected by their different structural properties [19,21]. Carbon nanodots (CDs), which is a new form of zero-dimensional carbonaceous nanomaterial, possesses a variety of advantages, including convenient sample synthesis, excellent water dispersibility, and photostability [22,23]. Recently, Nie's group firstly used CDs as a novel matrix for the analysis of a series of LMW compounds by MALDI-TOF MS with higher sensitivity over other reported carbon based matrices [24].…”

Progress of Luminescent Carbon Dots in Biomedicine Engineering

“…A recent laser scanning confocal microscopy study showed that neither blinking nor meaningful reduction in the PL intensity were observed during several hours of continuous exposure to excitation. luminescence decays further confirmed C-dots can be used in vitro and in vivo living cell or animal imaging [30].…”

“…The introduction of heteroatoms has been studied to tune the conduction/valence band position of C-dots, which confers additional functions [27][28][29]. For example, the quantum yield (QY) of C-dots could be significantly improved by incorporating the N element while C-dots with a wide band gap could be synthesized by incorporating the S element [30][31][32][33][34]. Furthermore, P-doped C-dots showed green fluorescence (FL), which could be utilized as an imaging signal with low background [35][36][37].…”