Carbon nanomaterials endowed with significant luminescence have been synthesized for the first time from an abundant, highly localized waste, the wet pomace (WP), a semi-solid by-product of industrial olive oil production. Synthetic efforts were undertaken to outshine the photoluminescence (PL) of carbon nanoparticles through a systematic search of the best reaction conditions to convert the waste biomass, mainly consisting in holocellulose, lignin and proteins, into carbon dots (CDs) by hydrothermal carbonization processes. Blue-emitting CDs with high fluorescence quantum yields were obtained. Using a comprehensive set of spectroscopic tools (FTIR, Raman, XPS, and 1H/13C NMR) in combination with steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy, a rational depiction of WP-CDs structures and their PL properties was reached. WP-CDs show the up-conversion of PL capabilities and negligible cytotoxicity against two mammalian cell lines (L929 and HeLa). Both properties are excellent indicators for their prospective application in biological imaging, biosensing, and dynamic therapies driven by light.
Keywords: antioxidant activity; carbon dots; cytotoxicity; fluorescence; hydrothermal carbonization; olive mill waste; two-photon absorption.