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Nano Research 2023, 16(2): 1835-1845 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-022-5189-2
Research Article | Issue | Published: 29 November 2022

Chitosan-based carbon dots with multi-color-emissive tunable fluorescence and visible light catalytic enhancement properties

Show Author's Information Qiong Wu1,  Shouyun Zhang1,  Shuang Li1,  Yan Yan1,  Shitao Yu1,  Ruiyang Zhao1,  Lang Huang2( )
State Key Laboratory Base of Eco-Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, China
Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266101, China
Keywords:
chitosan, carbon dots, photosensitizer, multicolor luminescence, visible light catalysis
Topics:
Carbon
Cite this article:
Wu Q, Zhang S, Li S, et al. Chitosan-based carbon dots with multi-color-emissive tunable fluorescence and visible light catalytic enhancement properties. Nano Research, 2023, 16(2): 1835-1845. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-022-5189-2
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are receiving increasing attention for their excellent photostability, low toxicity, and tunable fluorescence performance, but it is still challenging to prepare full-spectrum CQDs using only one single set of precursor and solvent. In this study, P and N co-doped carbon dots (N,PR-CQDs) with multi-color-emissive tunable fluorescence from blue to green and orange were synthesized from bio-based chitosan, employing phosphoric acid as solvent and dopant. The introduction of phosphoric acid successfully shortens the manufacturing reaction time, and the heteratomic functional groups of P–O/P=O on surface of carbon dots enrich the surface defect states, promoting n–π* transition, and therefore changing their electron structure/energy level to reduce the band gap, thus facilitating emission at long wavelength. Specifically, increasing phosphoric acid concentration leads to characteristic excitation peaks red shift from 320 to 420 nm with the characteristic emission peaks red shift from 406 to 503 nm. A new emission peak at 610 nm appears, enabling N,PR-CQDs exhibit double emission peaks with fluorescence color from green to yellow to orange. After compositing with carbon nitride (g-C3N4), N,PR-CQDs work as photosensitizer and effectively narrow the energy gap (Eg) of g-C3N4 from 2.75 to 2.40 eV, endowing the photocatalyst higher visible light capture ability and broader light response region. The photocatalytic degradation rate of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation reaches up to 98.39% within 60 min using N,P20%-CQDs/g-C3N4 as catalyst, which is 1.4 times that of pure g-C3N4, and it is demonstrated that ·O2− is the major active substance contributing for RhB degradation by de-ethyl and aromatic ring breakage.


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Electronic supplementary material
About this article

Chitosan-based carbon dots with multi-color-emissive tunable fluorescence and visible light catalytic enhancement properties

Show Author's information Qiong Wu1, Shouyun Zhang1, Shuang Li1, Yan Yan1, Shitao Yu1, Ruiyang Zhao1, Lang Huang2( )
State Key Laboratory Base of Eco-Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, China
Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266101, China

Abstract

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are receiving increasing attention for their excellent photostability, low toxicity, and tunable fluorescence performance, but it is still challenging to prepare full-spectrum CQDs using only one single set of precursor and solvent. In this study, P and N co-doped carbon dots (N,PR-CQDs) with multi-color-emissive tunable fluorescence from blue to green and orange were synthesized from bio-based chitosan, employing phosphoric acid as solvent and dopant. The introduction of phosphoric acid successfully shortens the manufacturing reaction time, and the heteratomic functional groups of P–O/P=O on surface of carbon dots enrich the surface defect states, promoting n–π* transition, and therefore changing their electron structure/energy level to reduce the band gap, thus facilitating emission at long wavelength. Specifically, increasing phosphoric acid concentration leads to characteristic excitation peaks red shift from 320 to 420 nm with the characteristic emission peaks red shift from 406 to 503 nm. A new emission peak at 610 nm appears, enabling N,PR-CQDs exhibit double emission peaks with fluorescence color from green to yellow to orange. After compositing with carbon nitride (g-C3N4), N,PR-CQDs work as photosensitizer and effectively narrow the energy gap (Eg) of g-C3N4 from 2.75 to 2.40 eV, endowing the photocatalyst higher visible light capture ability and broader light response region. The photocatalytic degradation rate of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation reaches up to 98.39% within 60 min using N,P20%-CQDs/g-C3N4 as catalyst, which is 1.4 times that of pure g-C3N4, and it is demonstrated that ·O2− is the major active substance contributing for RhB degradation by de-ethyl and aromatic ring breakage.

Keywords: chitosan, carbon dots, photosensitizer, multicolor luminescence, visible light catalysis

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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 14 August 2022
Revised: 01 October 2022
Accepted: 11 October 2022
Published: 29 November 2022
Issue date: February 2023

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press 2022

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52203283 and 31700517), the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (Nos. ZR2022MC040 and ZR2021QC117), and the Open Project of State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials (No. sklssm2022035, Jilin University) financially supported this work.

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