Turning Spent Coffee Grounds into Sustainable Precursors for the Fabrication of Carbon Dots.

ABSTRACT: Spent coffee grounds (SCGs) are known for containing many organic compounds of interest, including carbohydrates, lipids, phenolic compounds and proteins. Therefore, we investigated them as a potential source to obtain carbon dots (CDs) via a nanotechnology approach. Herein, a comparison was performed between CDs produced by SCGs and classic precursors (e.g., citric acid and urea). The SCG-based CDs were obtained via the one-pot and solvent-free carbonization of solid samples, generating nanosized particles (2.1-3.9 nm). These nanoparticles exhibited a blue fluorescence with moderate quantum yields (2.9-5.8%) and an excitation-dependent emission characteristic of carbon dots. SCG-based CDs showed potential as environmentally relevant fluorescent probes for Fe³⁺ in water. More im

SUBMITTER: Crista DMA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7353129 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature