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Investigating the Effect of Reaction Time on Carbon Dot Formation, Structure, and Optical Properties
journal contribution
posted on 2019-12-12, 20:17 authored by Nikolaos Papaioannou, Maria-Magdalena Titirici, Andrei SapelkinCarbon dots, a young member of the carbon nanomaterial
family,
are quasi-spherical nanoparticles, which have fluorescent properties
as their key characteristic. A wide range of starting materials and
synthetic routes have been reported in the literature, divided into
two main categories: a top-down and bottom-up approach. Moreover,
a series of different parameters that affect the properties of carbon
dots have been investigated, including temperature, starting pH, as
well as precursor concentration. However, the effect of reaction time
has not been extensively monitored. In our study, a biomass derivative
was treated hydrothermally with varying reaction times to draw a solid
formation mechanism. In addition, we monitored the effect of reaction
time on optical and structural characteristics, as well as the chemical
composition of our materials. Our key findings include a four-stage
formation mechanism, a higher level of crystallinity, and an increasing
brightness over reaction time.