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Nano Research 2022, 15(3): 2545-2551 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-021-3736-x
Research Article | Issue | Published: 24 July 2021

Pressure-induced photoluminescence enhancement and ambient retention in confined carbon dots

Show Author's Information Qing Lou1,  Xigui Yang1( ),  Kaikai Liu1,  Zhongzheng Ding1,  Jinxu Qin1,  Yizhe Li1,  Chaofan Lv1,  Yuan Shang2( ),  Yuewen Zhang1,  Zhuangfei Zhang1,  Jinhao Zang1,  Lin Dong1,  Chong-Xin Shan1( )
Henan Key Laboratory of Diamond Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, Key Laboratory of Material Physics, Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Microelectronics, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Supercomputer Center, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Keywords:
carbon nanodots, high pressure, confinement effect, piezochromic fluorescence, emission enhancement
Topics:
Carbon quantum dots
Cite this article:
Lou Q, Yang X, Liu K, et al. Pressure-induced photoluminescence enhancement and ambient retention in confined carbon dots. Nano Research, 2022, 15(3): 2545-2551. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-021-3736-x
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Abstract Full text About this article

Piezochromic luminescent materials have shown great potential in advanced optoelectronic applications. However, most of luminescent materials usually undergo emission quenching under external stimuli. Herein, we demonstrate for the first time that the photoluminescence of carbon dots (CDs) confined within sodium hydroxide can be enhanced when high pressure is applied. They exhibit a 1.6-fold fluorescence enhancement compared with pristine CDs. Importantly, the enhanced fluorescence intensity can be retained after the release of pressure to ambient conditions. A combination of experimental analysis and theoretical simulations indicates that such an enhanced emission is mainly attributed to the strong confinement resulting from the sodium hydroxide matrix, which can separate the CDs spatially and restrict the nonradiative pathway. These results provide a rational strategy for manipulating the optical properties of CDs with enhanced and retainable photoluminescence (PL) performance, thus opening up a venue for designing luminescent CDs-based materials.


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About this article

Pressure-induced photoluminescence enhancement and ambient retention in confined carbon dots

Show Author's information Qing Lou1, Xigui Yang1( ), Kaikai Liu1, Zhongzheng Ding1, Jinxu Qin1, Yizhe Li1, Chaofan Lv1, Yuan Shang2( ), Yuewen Zhang1, Zhuangfei Zhang1, Jinhao Zang1, Lin Dong1, Chong-Xin Shan1( )
Henan Key Laboratory of Diamond Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, Key Laboratory of Material Physics, Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Microelectronics, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Supercomputer Center, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China

Abstract

Piezochromic luminescent materials have shown great potential in advanced optoelectronic applications. However, most of luminescent materials usually undergo emission quenching under external stimuli. Herein, we demonstrate for the first time that the photoluminescence of carbon dots (CDs) confined within sodium hydroxide can be enhanced when high pressure is applied. They exhibit a 1.6-fold fluorescence enhancement compared with pristine CDs. Importantly, the enhanced fluorescence intensity can be retained after the release of pressure to ambient conditions. A combination of experimental analysis and theoretical simulations indicates that such an enhanced emission is mainly attributed to the strong confinement resulting from the sodium hydroxide matrix, which can separate the CDs spatially and restrict the nonradiative pathway. These results provide a rational strategy for manipulating the optical properties of CDs with enhanced and retainable photoluminescence (PL) performance, thus opening up a venue for designing luminescent CDs-based materials.

Keywords: carbon nanodots, high pressure, confinement effect, piezochromic fluorescence, emission enhancement

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Publication history
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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 23 May 2021
Revised: 05 July 2021
Accepted: 07 July 2021
Published: 24 July 2021
Issue date: March 2022

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2021

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 11804307, 12074348, U2004168, 62027816 and U1804155), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Nos. 2018M630830, 2019T120631 and 2020M682310), and the Natural Science Foundation of Henan Province (Nos. 212300410410 and 212300410078).

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