An evaluation of the need for critically refined purification procedures in fluorescent carbon dot syntheses : the ramifications of the ubiquitous presence of reaction by-products on quenchometric and light harvesting applications
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Fluorescent carbon dots constitute a novel and intriguing class of nanocarbons that display unique optical properties and can be purportedly generated from virtually any carbon-containing source. For example, the thermal pyrolysis of human urine results in the formation of fluorescent nanocarbons, whose spectroscopic properties are dependent on the diet of the urine donor, a scenario potentially leading to heteroatom doping of the carbonaceous nanomaterials. Furthermore, these nanocarbons' alluring electron donor/acceptor capabilities afford their implementation as dual reducing and capping agents towards the formation of metal nanoparticle/carbon dot composites that possess a high degree of optical tunability. The ability to modulate the spectroscopic properties of both these materials holds promise for exploitation in solar energy harvesting applications as green sensitizers and plasmonic enhancers. However, these nanocarbons' distinguishing luminescent properties, whose origin continues to elude the field, has recently come under scrutiny due to the presence of highly fluorescent, molecular by-products generated in route to the target nanocarbon, resulting in the widespread misrepresentation of their emission characteristics. Thus, this detrimental issue of insufficient by-product removal and the subsequent effects on reported nanocarbon luminescence, as well as common applications, namely, quenchometric detection and photosensitizers, are addressed here, providing a path forward for arriving at a fundamental understanding of these promising nanocarbons and their true properties.
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Ph. D.