Enhanced Fluorescence and Environmental Stability of Red-Emissive Carbon Dots via Chemical Bonding with Cellulose Films

Yeqing Chen; Gaoyang Xiong; Lina Zhu; Jie Huang; Xueying Chen; Yan Chen; Mingxuan Cao

doi:10.1021/acsomega.1c06426

Enhanced Fluorescence and Environmental Stability of Red-Emissive Carbon Dots via Chemical Bonding with Cellulose Films

ACS Omega. 2022 Feb 17;7(8):6834-6842. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.1c06426. eCollection 2022 Mar 1.

Authors

Yeqing Chen¹, Gaoyang Xiong¹, Lina Zhu¹, Jie Huang¹, Xueying Chen¹, Yan Chen¹, Mingxuan Cao²

Affiliations

¹ School of Applied Physics and Materials, Wuyi University, No. 22, Dongcheng Village, Jiangmen 529020, Guangdong, P. R. China.
² Faculty of Intelligent Manufacturing, Wuyi University, No. 22, Dongcheng Village, Jiangmen 529020, Guangdong, P. R. China.

Abstract

The development of red emission carbon dots with bright solid-state fluorescence would significantly broaden their application in optoelectronic devices and sensors. Herein, a red-emissive carbon dot-based nanocomposite has been synthesized through chemical bonding with cellulose films. The red emission originating from the surface states of carbon dots was maintained in the cellulose films. Due to the stable chemical bonding, the photoluminescence intensity and emission wavelength remained unchanged for 12 months, and the quantum yield of the composite was enhanced over 4 times. It also showed outstanding stability in water or weak acid-base environments under pHs ranging from 2 to 11. Therefore, the mechanism of chemical bonding that eliminated the defects and preserved the efficient radiative process through surface states was proposed.