Issue 39, 2022

The role of molecular fluorophores in the photoluminescence of carbon dots derived from citric acid: current state-of-the-art and future perspectives

Abstract

Carbon dots (CDs), an emerging class of nanomaterials, have attracted considerable attention due to their intriguing photophysical properties. Despite their indisputable potential of utilization in many fascinating areas of research and life, some fundamental aspects concerning their structure and the origin of their photoluminescence (PL) properties still await clarification. The mechanism of PL emission of CDs is associated with their structure, which is dependent on the carbonization process. At the initial stages of CD synthesis via a bottom-up approach, molecular fluorophores are considered to dominate the optical characteristics of the resulting nanomaterials. In this review, the recent progress in the use of molecular state theory for explanation of the structure–property relationship in CDs is summarized. This review focuses exclusively on the molecular fluorophores existing in nanomaterials prepared from citric acid (CA) as one of the most frequent carbon sources reported for the bottom-up synthesis of CDs. Consequently, the most relevant transformations of CA and the history of molecular fluorophores derived from it are described, followed by an in-depth discussion on their relevance in understanding the specific photophysical properties of blue-, green-, and red-emitting CDs. Finally, the challenging issues and future perspectives of molecular state PL mechanism exploration in CDs are highlighted.

Graphical abstract: The role of molecular fluorophores in the photoluminescence of carbon dots derived from citric acid: current state-of-the-art and future perspectives

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
09 Qas 2022
Accepted
15 Way 2022
First published
15 Way 2022

Nanoscale, 2022,14, 14368-14384

The role of molecular fluorophores in the photoluminescence of carbon dots derived from citric acid: current state-of-the-art and future perspectives

W. Kasprzyk, T. Świergosz, P. P. Romańczyk, J. Feldmann and J. K. Stolarczyk, Nanoscale, 2022, 14, 14368 DOI: 10.1039/D2NR03176K

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