@article{Lou2022, 
author = {Qing Lou and Xigui Yang and Kaikai Liu and Zhongzheng Ding and Jinxu Qin and Yizhe Li and Chaofan Lv and Yuan Shang and Yuewen Zhang and Zhuangfei Zhang and Jinhao Zang and Lin Dong and Chong-Xin Shan},
title = {Pressure-induced photoluminescence enhancement and ambient retention in confined carbon dots},
year = {2022},
journal = {Nano Research},
volume = {15},
number = {3},
pages = {2545-2551},
keywords = {carbon nanodots, high pressure, piezochromic fluorescence, confinement effect, emission enhancement},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.1007/s12274-021-3736-x},
doi = {10.1007/s12274-021-3736-x},
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.}
}