Issue 26, 2022

Unconventional aliphatic fluorophores discovered as the luminescence origin in citric acid–urea carbon dots

Abstract

Carbon dots (CDs) are emerging as the material of choice in a range of applications due to their excellent photoluminescence properties, ease of preparation from inexpensive precursors, and low toxicity. However, the precise nature of the mechanism for the fluorescence is still under debate, and several molecular fluorophores have been reported. In this work, a new blue fluorophore, 5-oxopyrrolidine-3-carboxylic acid, was discovered in carbon dots synthesized from the most commonly used precursors: citric acid and urea. The molecular product alone has demonstrated interesting aggregation-enhanced emission (AEE), making it unique compared to other fluorophores known to be generated in CDs. We propose that this molecular fluorophore is associated with a polymer backbone within the CDs, and its fluorescence behavior is largely dependent on intermolecular interactions with the polymers or other fluorophores. Thus, a new class of non-traditional fluorophores is now relevant to the consideration of the CD fluorescence mechanism, providing both an additional challenge to the community in resolving the mechanism and an opportunity for a greater range of CD design schemes and applications.

Graphical abstract: Unconventional aliphatic fluorophores discovered as the luminescence origin in citric acid–urea carbon dots

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
29 apr 2022
Accepted
16 iyn 2022
First published
17 iyn 2022

Nanoscale, 2022,14, 9516-9525

Author version available

Unconventional aliphatic fluorophores discovered as the luminescence origin in citric acid–urea carbon dots

X. Yao, Y. Wang, F. Li, J. J. Dalluge, G. Orr, R. Hernandez, Q. Cui and C. L. Haynes, Nanoscale, 2022, 14, 9516 DOI: 10.1039/D2NR02361J

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