Bio-Derived Fluorescent Carbon Dots: Synthesis, Properties and Applications

Manisha Kumari; Ganga Ram Chaudhary; Savita Chaudhary; Ahmad Umar; Sheikh Akbar; Sotirios Baskoutas

doi:10.3390/molecules27165329

Bio-Derived Fluorescent Carbon Dots: Synthesis, Properties and Applications

Molecules. 2022 Aug 21;27(16):5329. doi: 10.3390/molecules27165329.

Authors

Manisha Kumari¹, Ganga Ram Chaudhary¹, Savita Chaudhary¹, Ahmad Umar^{2

3}, Sheikh Akbar³, Sotirios Baskoutas⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry and Centre of Advanced Studies in Chemistry, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160014, India.
² Department of Chemistry, College of Science and Arts, and Promising Centre for Sensors and Electronic Devices (PCSED), Najran University, Najran 11001, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
⁴ Department of Materials Science, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece.

Abstract

The transformation of biowaste into products with added value offers a lucrative role in nation-building. The current work describes the synthesis of highly water-soluble, luminous carbon quantum dots (CQDs) in the size range of 5-10 nm from discarded rice straw. The small spherical CQDs that were formed had outstanding optical and luminescent qualities as well as good photostabilities. By performing quantitative multi-assay tests that included antioxidant activities, in vitro stability and colloidal assay investigations as a function of different CQD concentrations, the biocompatibility of CQDs was evaluated. To clearly visualize the type of surface defects and emissive states in produced CQDs, excitation-dependent fluorescence emission experiments have also been carried out. The "waste-to-wealth" strategy that has been devised is a successful step toward the quick and accurate detection of Cu²⁺ ion in aqueous conditions. The fluorescence-quenching behavior has specified the concentration dependency of the developed sensor in the range of 50 μM to 10 nM, with detection limit value of 0.31 nM. The main advantage of the current research is that it offers a more environmentally friendly, economically viable and scaled-up synthesis of toxicologically screened CQDs for the quick fluorescence detection of Cu²⁺ ions and opens up new possibilities in wastewater management.

Keywords: carbon dots; copper ion; fluorescence; recycling; sensing.

MeSH terms

Carbon*
Fluorescent Dyes
Ions
Luminescence
Quantum Dots*
Water

Substances

Fluorescent Dyes
Ions
Water
Carbon

Grants and funding

Manisha Kumari is thankful to the Haryana State Council for Science and Technology, Panchkula for the financial support under HSCSIT/R&D/2020/476. Savita Chaudhary acknowledges the DST Inspire Faculty award [IFACH- 17], the Haryana State Council for Science and Technology [HSCSIT/R&D/2020/476] and the DST Chandigarh and DST Purse grants II for the financial assistance. Ganga Ram Chaudhary would like to acknowledge the support of UGC, India under the INDO-US 21st Century Knowledge Initiative project [F.No. 194-2/2016 (IC)]. The authors are thankful to the Sophisticated Analytical Instrumentation Facility (SAIF, CIL), Panjab University, Chandigarh.