Issue 1, 2016

Photobleaching and stabilization of carbon nanodots produced by solvothermal synthesis

Abstract

In this work we performed a detailed investigation of the photostability of bottom-up produced carbon nanodots (CDs) prepared from citric acid and urea by solvothermal synthesis. Analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC) reveals that the CDs have a hydrodynamic diameter of <1 nm and a very narrow size distribution. In the community it is widely assumed that CDs are photo-stable. In contrast, we found that CDs exposed to UV-irradiation exhibit noteworthy fluorescence degeneration compared to freshly prepared CDs or CDs stored in the dark, indicating that fluorescence bleaching is caused by a photochemical process. We found that fluorescence intensity decay due to exposure to UV-irradiation is accelerated in the presence of oxygen and identified the surface status of CDs as the decisive factor of fluorescence bleaching of CDs. Based on a discussion on the underlying mechanisms we show how to avoid photobleaching of CDs.

Graphical abstract: Photobleaching and stabilization of carbon nanodots produced by solvothermal synthesis

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 Aug 2015
Accepted
16 Nov 2015
First published
17 Nov 2015

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2016,18, 466-475

Author version available

Photobleaching and stabilization of carbon nanodots produced by solvothermal synthesis

W. Wang, C. Damm, J. Walter, T. J. Nacken and W. Peukert, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2016, 18, 466 DOI: 10.1039/C5CP04942C

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