Issue 23, 2021

The formation mechanism and chirality evolution of chiral carbon dots prepared via radical assisted synthesis at room temperature

Abstract

We report on a Cu(II) catalyzed process for the production of cysteine based chiral carbon dots; the process does not require any thermal treatment and the carbon dot formation is driven by the production of reactive radical species that are generated in the reaction media by the catalytic role played by the multivalent transition metal. The nanomaterial presents a well-defined chirality and the enantioselectivity of the synthesis is proved by the isolation of both the carbon dot enantiomers. We focused our attention on the processes that take place during the carbon dot formation and the relationship with the structure of the organic starting material. Thanks to the comparison of reactions conducted with different organic substrates whose thiyl radical chemistry is known, we recognized a non-trivial role of the radical hydrogen abstraction reactions in the carbon dot formation process. The reported process allows access to a large variety of analyses to monitor the reaction mixtures during the reaction course. Finally, we report a detailed analysis on the evolution of optical chirality during the synthesis and related this feature with the formation mechanism of the nanomaterial revealing significant evidence on the chirality origin and structure of chiral carbon dots.

Graphical abstract: The formation mechanism and chirality evolution of chiral carbon dots prepared via radical assisted synthesis at room temperature

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
26 mar 2021
Accepted
12 may 2021
First published
12 may 2021

Nanoscale, 2021,13, 10478-10489

The formation mechanism and chirality evolution of chiral carbon dots prepared via radical assisted synthesis at room temperature

L. Branzi, G. Lucchini, E. Cattaruzza, N. Pinna, A. Benedetti and A. Speghini, Nanoscale, 2021, 13, 10478 DOI: 10.1039/D1NR01927A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements