Facile synthesis and application of highly luminescent CdTe quantum dots with an electrogenerated precursor

An electrogenerated precursor has been developed for green synthesis of highly luminescent aqueous CdTe quantum dots (QDs) with unique quantum yield and strong electrogenerated luminescence, which can access cellular targets via specific binding and have potential application as biolabels in highly sensitive biosensing and cell imaging.     

超声法一步合成生物相容的黄绿色荧光碳点

本文以蜡烛灰为碳源,在强酸环境中超声法一步合成了粒径均匀的荧光碳点（CDs）,粒径（3.47±1.81）nm,在紫外灯照射下发出黄绿色荧光.研究表明,CDs表面带有-OH、C=O和-COOH等官能团,存在sp3杂化和sp2杂化两种碳原子.所合成的碳点具有良好的耐光漂白能力和生物相容性,能潜在地作为黄绿色荧光成像试剂应用于细胞成像.     

Emission-tunable microwave synthesis of highly luminescent water soluble CdSe/ZnS quantum dots

Water soluble CdSe/ZnS nanoparticles with emission maxima from 511 nm to 596 nm and quantum efficiencies ranging from 11% to 28% are synthesized in a facile two-step method in ambient atmospheric conditions using a commercially available microwave reactor.     

Synthesis of multicolor luminescent adjustable carbon dots and their application in anti-counterfeiting

A novel approach for fabricating color-adjustable carbon dots (CDs) is proposed via hydrothermal treatment of p-aminobenzenesulfonic acid and o-, m-, or p-phenylenediamines, respectively. The as-synthesized CDs can emit blue, green, and orange fluorescence and are named b-CDs, g-CDs, and o-CDs, respectively. All of them have strict excitation independence and excellent photostability. Variations of photoluminescence emitting them are attributed to the difference in their particle size, the degree of oxidation, and the content of N-related states on their surface. Furthermore, these multicolor CDs have been used as fluorescents inks, which perform well in anti-counterfeiting and information security.     

Microwave-assisted synthesis of highly luminescent CdSeTe@ZnS-SiO2 quantum dots and their application in the detection of Cu(II)

Highly luminescent and low toxic glutathione-capped CdSeTe@ZnS-SiO(2) quantum dots were successfully synthesized via a promising microwave strategy, and then applied in the detection of Cu(2+).     

Electrochemical preparation of luminescent graphene quantum dots from multiwalled carbon nanotubes

Green luminescent, graphene quantum dots (GQDs) with a uniform size of 3, 5, and 8.2(±0.3)?nm in diameter were prepared electrochemically from MWCNTs in propylene carbonate by using LiClO(4) at 90?°C, whereas similar particles of 23(±2)?nm were obtained at 30?°C under identical conditions. Both these sets of GQDs displayed a remarkable quantum efficiency of 6.3 and 5.1?%, respectively. This method offers a novel strategy to synthesise size-tunable GQDs as evidenced by multiple characterisation techniques like transmission and scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Photoluminescence of these GQDs can be tailored by size variation through a systematic change in key process parameters, like diameter of carbon nanotube, electric field, concentration of supporting electrolyte and temperature. GQDs are promising candidates for a variety of applications, such as biomarkers, nanoelectronic devices and chemosensors due to their unique features, like high photostability, biocompatibility, nontoxicity and tunable solubility in water.     

Facile and one-step preparation carbon quantum dots from biomass residue and their applications as efficient surfactants

Using biomass residue as a source of carbon precursors, a pyrolysis method was used to prepare biomass-derived luminescent Carbon Quantum Dots (CQDs). The prepared CQDs exhibited excellent fluorescence and luminescence properties and fluorescence behaviors of CQDs acquired at different pyrolysis temperatures varied. Importantly, the CQDs showed superior surface activity and the styrene-in-water Pickering emulsion prepared using the CQDs as nano-sized surfactant was highly stable: the higher the pyrolysis temperature the better the stability of the emulsion. In addition, there was no stratification found in the emulsion which was stabilized by the CQD500 (CQDs prepared at 500?°C) after holding for 72?hours. This research provided an approach for preparing the surfactants of nano-sized particles in large scale. The CQDs prepared using the proposed methods are expected to have a high number of potential applications.     

Microwave-assisted aqueous synthesis: a rapid approach to prepare highly luminescent ZnSe(S) alloyed quantum dots

In this paper, we present a new procedure for the rapid synthesis of luminescent ZnSe nanocrystals in aqueous phase by microwave irradiation with controllable temperature. The effects of microwave irradiation and experimental conditions on the synthesis of nanocrystals were investigated systematically. It was found that there were significant effects of pH value of reaction solutions, molar ratio of precursors, and heating time of microwave irradiation on the optical properties of the ZnSe nanocrystals. A series of nanocrystals with different size was prepared in 1 h, and the photoluminescence quantum yield reached up to 17% at the optimal reaction condition. The results of HRTEM and XRD showed that the as-prepared nanocrystals had high crystallinity. The characterizations of EDS spectra and elemental analysis showed that the sulfur content of nanocrystals increased with the growth of nanocrystals. We speculated that the structure of nanocrystals was an alloy ZnSe(S) shell on the surface of the ZnSe particles core. Furthermore, we found that the oxygen from air in the reaction vessel played an important role in the decomposition of the thiol group under microwave irradiation.     

Hydrothermal synthesis of highly luminescent CdTe quantum dots by adjusting precursors’ concentration and their conjunction with BSA as biological fluorescent probes

A study on hydrothermal synthesis of CdTe quantum dots, highly luminescent nanocrystals at a relatively lower temperature, via changing the concentration of the CdTe precursors, is described. The full width at half maximum ranged from 40 to 80 nm and quantum yield (QY) was detected to be 27.4% at room temperature. The as-prepared CdTe QDs were labeled with BSA for fluorescence probes without pretreatment. Conjunction experimental results suggested that the as-prepared CdTe QDs are suitable for the application of biotechnology.     

Synthesis of highly luminescent carbon dots from postconsumer waste silk cloth and investigation of its electron transfer dynamics with methyl viologen dichloride

Synthesis of luminescent carbon dots (CDs) from biological waste materials is gaining more attention in the present-day scenario. We have synthesized highly luminescent (luminescence quantum yield, φ ​= ​19.1%), water-soluble CDs from a postconsumer waste silk cloth via a facile hydrothermal synthetic method. The resulting CDs are characterized and their photophysical properties are studied in detail. The electron transfer dynamics of CDs in presence of methyl viologen dichloride hydrate (MV²⁺) is systematically investigated in this work. Knowledge of the electron transfer dynamics of CDs is essential in the structural elucidation of CDs, prediction of sensing mechanisms and utilizing the CDs in energy storage devices.     

Ionic liquids as precursors for highly luminescent,surface-different nitrogen-doped carbon dots used for label-free detection of Cu/Fe and cell imaging

Carbon nanodots (C-Dots) have attracted much attention in recent years due to their low cost, ready scalability, excellent chemical stability, biocompatibility and multicolor luminescence. Here, we report a facile strategy for producing highly luminescent, surface-different nitrogen-doped carbon dots (C-Dots) by using different ionic liquids (ILs). Intriguingly, the surface-different C-Dots show different selectivity for Cu²⁺ and Fe³⁺. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example which shows that ILs are excellent precursors for producing luminescent nanomaterial used for detection of different metal ions. The resultant nitrogen-doped C-Dots are highly photoluminescent and can be used for multicolor bioimaging. Most notable, by taking different ILs as precursors, we obtain surface-different C-Dots, which can be directly used for selective detection of Cu²⁺ and Fe³⁺ without any modification. These C-Dots based sensors exhibit high sensitivity and selectivity and the sensing process can be easily accomplished with one-step rapid operation. More importantly, compared with other method using QDs, organic dyes and organic solvent, this strategy is much more eco-friendly. This work may offer a new approach for developing low cost and sensitive C-Dots-based sensors for biological and environmental applications.     

简便方法制备氮掺杂的碳球用作高效非金属氧还原催化剂（英文）

随着人们环保意识的不断增强,社会对清洁能源的需求也日益增加.燃料电池具有效率高,燃料来源丰富,可直接将化学能转化成电能且污染小等优点,因而受到了广泛关注.然而,燃料电池的阴极氧还原反应(ORR)速率较慢,成为提高燃料电池整体效率的制约因素.因此,开发高性能的ORR催化剂,加快ORR反应速率具有非常重要的意义.目前,Pt基催化剂被认为是活性最好的商用ORR电催化剂.尽管此类催化剂具有较高的催化活性和良好的稳定性,但Pt的储量有限,价格高昂,抗燃料毒化性能差,限制了其大规模应用.近年来,为了减小Pt的用量,降低催化剂成本,人们除了致力于研究贵金属合金催化剂及非贵金属催化剂外,还把目光聚焦在了非金属催化剂,特别是碳及其复合材料的研究上.在众多碳材料中,碳球因具有良好的表面渗透性和较高的机械稳定性而被广泛应用于催化、吸附、药物输送和能量存储及转化等领域中.然而,碳球的表面化学惰性较强,比表面积较低,使其部分应用受到了限制.因此,人们采用了多种方法来调控碳球的物理化学性质.其中,向碳材料中掺入杂原子,尤其是氮原子的方法广受青睐.因为杂原子的掺入会显著增强作为主体的碳原子给电子的能力和表面吸附性质,从而对ORR表现出优异的催化活性和稳定性.本文以蔗糖作为碳源,三聚氰胺作为氮源,采用水热法及高温热解法制备了一系列氮掺杂的生物质碳球.并对氮掺杂量及热解温度进行了优化.结果表明,石墨化程度及石墨氮含量的提高,能有效地提高催化剂的活性.在优化了的条件下得到的催化剂N0.1C1.9S-900,表现出了比商业Pt/C催化剂更好的ORR催化性能.在0.1 mol/L KOH中,该催化剂催化ORR的起始电位和半波电位分别为–22.6和–133.6 mV(vs.Ag/AgCl),极限电流密度为4.6 mA/cm~2,分别比商业Pt/C高出7.2 mV,5.9 mV和0.2 mA/cm~2.同时,在经过30000 s的稳定性测试中,N0.1C1.9S-900催化剂的电流损失也远低于Pt/C,表明该催化剂具有良好的稳定性.此外,在抗甲醇毒化实验中,相比于商业Pt/C,N0.1C1.9S-900催化剂对甲醇有更好的耐受性.另外,该催化剂催化的ORR属于高效的4e~–途径.可见,该催化剂作为燃料电池的阴极氧还原反应催化剂具有广阔的前景.     

A one-step synthesis of cadmium selenide quantum dots from a novel single source precursor

A new approach to the one-step synthesis of cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots is reported using the air stable complex cadmium imino-bis(diisopropylphosphine selenide); the ligand is readily prepared from elemental selenium and the precursor, quantum dots of comparable quality to those prepared by conventional methods are obtained.     

高稳定性黑米碳点的绿色合成及其细胞成像应用

以绿色廉价的黑米为碳源,采用简单的水热法一步合成了碳点(carbon dots,CDs)。所合成的CDs不仅对pH、NaCl溶液和温度变化不敏感,并且不受多种金属离子的影响,表现出优异的稳定性。同时,CDs在较短波长范围(410~470 nm)表现出激发不依赖的发射行为,在较长波长范围(470~510 nm)又表现出弱激发依赖的发射行为。由于其优异的荧光特性、稳定性和低毒性,我们将其应用于人口腔角质形成细胞(Hok)、宫颈癌细胞(Hela)和骨髓间充质干细胞(MC3T3)的体外成像。     

高稳定性黑米碳点的绿色合成及其细胞成像应用

以绿色廉价的黑米为碳源,采用简单的水热法一步合成了碳点(carbon dots,CDs)。所合成的CDs不仅对pH、NaCl溶液和温度变化不敏感,并且不受多种金属离子的影响,表现出优异的稳定性。同时,CDs在较短波长范围(410~470 nm)表现出激发不依赖的发射行为,在较长波长范围(470~510 nm)又表现出弱激发依赖的发射行为。由于其优异的荧光特性、稳定性和低毒性,我们将其应用于人口腔角质形成细胞(Hok)、宫颈癌细胞(Hela)和骨髓间充质干细胞(MC3T3)的体外成像。     

Mass production of highly fluorescent full color carbon dots from the petroleum coke

Heavy oil is treated as an undesirable raw material in traditional refining markets because of its low yield. However, its rich natural aromatic structure and h...     

Fabrication of multi-structure nanocarbons from carbon xerogel: a unique scaffold towards bio-imaging

A novel route has been developed to fabricate different carbon nanostructures having individual morphology of carbon nanoparticles: nanofullerene, nanocube, nanoleaf and porous nanorods, through the combustion of carbon xerogel with nitric acid. These fabricated nanostructures exhibited bright green fluorescence under the exposure of UV light.     

Photostable and luminescent ZnO films: synthesis and application as fluorescence resonance energy transfer donors

Photostable and luminescent ZnO films are effectively engineered from the corresponding nanocrystalline ZnO solutions, and they successfully demonstrated their capability as fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) donors.     

Proton-controlled synthesis of red-emitting carbon dots and application for hematin detection in human erythrocytes

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry - The Red-emitting nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N-CDs) are synthesized using o-phenylenediamine by a one-step method, and can serve as a fluorescent probe for...     

A sustainable synthesis of biomass carbon sheets as excellent performance sodium ion batteries anode

Biomass-derived carbon (BMC) materials have attracted much attention due to their high performance and properties of abundant source. Herein, biomass carbon sheets (BMCS) from wheat straws had been successfully synthesized via a facile high temperature carbonization and expansion processes. The morphology of BMCS keeps the natural honeycomb-like shape of the cross section and the hollow tubular array structure of the vertical section with rich pores, which provides low-resistant ion channels to support fast diffusion. The (002) crystal plane reveals that the intercalation distance of carbon sheets is 0.383 nm larger than that graphite (0.335 nm), which benefits the larger sodium ion de/intercalation. By comparing different carbonization temperatures, wheat straws carbonized at 1200 °C (BMCS-1200) with well graphite microcrystallites show more excellent sodium ion storage performance than that of 900 °C (BMC-900). BMCS-1200 shows a stable reversible capacity of 221 mAh g^?1 after 200 cycles at 0.05 A g^?1, while BMC-900 is 162 mAh g^?1 after 100 cycles. And it also exhibits better rate capability (220, 109 mAh g^?1) than that of BMC-900 (125, 77 mAh g^?1) at 0.2 and 1 A g^?1, respectively. Finally, it delivers 89 mAh g^?1 stable capacity after 1400 cycles at 1 A g^?1 to prove its excellent long-term cycling stability.

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Graphical abstract High temperature carbon sheets with well graphite microcrystallites synthesized from wheat straw forexcellent sodium ion storage performance