The composition of fluorescent polymer nanoparticles, commonly referred to as carbon dots, synthesized by microwave-assisted reaction of citric acid and ethylenediamine was investigated by
13C,
13C{
1H},
1H─
13C,
13C{
14N}, and
15N solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments.
13C NMR with spectral editing provided no evidence for significant condensed aromatic or diamondoid carbon phases.
15N NMR showed that the nanoparticle matrix has been polymerized by amide and some imide formation. Five small, resolved
13C NMR peaks, including an unusual ═CH signal at 84 ppm (
1H chemical shift of 5.8 ppm) and ═CN
2 at 155 ppm, and two distinctive
15N NMR resonances near 80 and 160 ppm proved the presence of 5-oxo-1,2,3,5-tetrahydroimidazo[1,2-
a]pyridine-7-carboxylic acid (IPCA) or its derivatives. This molecular fluorophore with conjugated double bonds, formed by a double cyclization reaction of citric acid and ethylenediamine as first shown by Y. Song, B. Yang, and coworkers in 2015, accounts for the fluorescence of the carbon dots. Cross-peaks in a
1H─
13C HETCOR spectrum with brief
1H spin diffusion proved that IPCA is finely dispersed in the polyamide matrix. From quantitative
13C and
15N NMR spectra, a high concentration (18 ± 2 wt%) of IPCA in the carbon dots was determined. A pronounced gradient in
13C chemical-shift perturbations and peak widths, with the broadest lines near the COO group of IPCA, indicated at least partial transformation of the carboxylic acid of IPCA by amide or ester formation.
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