Surface vs. core N/S/Se-heteroatom doping of carbon nanodots produces divergent yet consistent optical responses to reactive oxygen species.

ABSTRACT: Carbon nanodots (CNDs) have attracted substantial scientific curiosity because of their intriguing stimuli-responsive optical properties. However, one obstacle to the more widespread use of CNDs as transducers for e.g., biodetection systems is incomplete knowledge regarding the underlying chemical changes responsible for this responsiveness, and how these chemical features can be engineered via the precursors chosen for CND synthesis. This study demonstrates that the precursor's functional groups play a key role in directing N/S/Se heteroatom dopants either towards the surface of the CNDs, towards the aromatic core, or towards small organic fluorophores in the core. Divergent optical properties, which were consistent amongst groups of CNDs prepared with similar precursors, we

SUBMITTER: Geng X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9417739 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature