Synthesis of hydrophobic photoluminescent carbon nanodots by using L-tyrosine and citric acid through a thermal oxidation route.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Gude V
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4168912 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Luminescent compounds obtained from the thermal reaction of citric acid and urea have been studied and utilized in different applications in the past few years. The identified reaction products range from carbon nitrides over graphitic carbon to distinct molecular fluorophores. On the other hand, the solid, non-fluorescent reaction product produced at higher temperatures has been found to be a valuable precursor for the CO2-laser-assisted carbonization reaction in carbon laser-patterning. This work addresses the question of structural identification of both, the fluorescent and non-fluorescent reaction products obtained in the thermal reaction of citric acid and urea. The reaction products produced during autoclave-microwave reactions in the melt were thoroughly investigated as a function of the reaction temperature and the reaction products were subsequently separated by a series of solvent extractions and column chromatography. The evolution of a green molecular fluorophore, namely HPPT, was confirmed and a full characterization study on its structure and photophysical properties was conducted. The additional blue fluorescence is attributed to oligomeric ureas, which was confirmed by complementary optical and structural characterization. These two components form strong hydrogen-bond networks which eventually react to form solid, semi-crystalline particles with a size of ∼7 nm and an elemental composition of 46% C, 22% N, and 29% O. The structural features and properties of all three main components were investigated in a comprehensive characterization study.
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Project description:In this study we demonstrate simple guidelines to generate a diverse range of fluorescent materials in both liquid and solid state by focusing on the most popular C-dots precursors, i.e. the binary systems of citric acid and urea. The pyrolytic treatment of those precursors combined with standard size separation techniques (dialysis and filtration), leads to four distinct families of photoluminescent materials in which the emissive signal predominantly arises from C-dots with embedded fluorophores, cyanuric acid-rich C-dots, a blend of molecular fluorophores and a mixture of C-dots with unbound molecular fluorophores, respectively. Within each one of those families the chemical composition and the optical properties of their members can be fine-tuned by adjusting the molar ratio of the reactants. Apart from generating a variety of aqueous dispersions, our approach leads to highly fluorescent powders derived from precursors comprising excessive amounts of urea that is consumed for the build-up of the carbogenic cores, the molecular fluorophores and the solid diluent matrix that suppresses self-quenching effects.
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