Polarity, intramolecular charge transfer, and hydrogen bond co-mediated solvent effects on the optical properties of graphene quantum dots

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) have attracted increasing attention due to their favorable optical properties and have been widely used, e.g., in the biomedical field. However, the properties related to the chemical structure of GQDs, resulting in solvent-dependent optical properties, still remain unclear. Herein, we present the synthesis of long-wavelength emitting GQDs with a size of about 3.6 nm via a solvothermal method using oxo-functionalized graphene (oxo-G) and p-phenylenediamine as precursors and their structural and surface chemical analysis by transmission electron and atomic force microscopy (TEM; AFM) as well as Fourier-transform infrared, Raman, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (FTIR; Raman; XPS). Subsequently, the influence of solvent polarity and proticity on the optical properties of the as-prepared GQDs bearing –OH, –NH₂, –COOH and pyridine surface groups was investigated. Based on the results of the absorption and fluorescence (FL) studies, a possible luminescence mechanism is proposed. The observed solvent-induced changes in the spectral position of the FL maximum, FL quantum yield, and FL decay kinetics in protic and aprotic solvents of low and high polarity are ascribed to a combination of polarity effects, intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) processes, and hydrogen bonding. Moreover, the potential of GQDs for the optical sensing of trace amount of water was assessed. The results of our systematic spectroscopic study will promote the rational design of GQDs and shed more light on the FL mechanism of carbon-based fluorescent nanomaterials.