Multicolor Luminescent Carbon Dots: Tunable Photoluminescence, Excellent Stability, and Their Application in Light-Emitting Diodes

Longshi Rao; Qing Zhang; Bin Sun; Mingfu Wen; Jiayang Zhang; Guisheng Zhong; Ting Fu; Xiaodong Niu

doi:10.3390/nano12183132

Nanomaterials (Sep 2022)

Multicolor Luminescent Carbon Dots: Tunable Photoluminescence, Excellent Stability, and Their Application in Light-Emitting Diodes

Longshi Rao,
Qing Zhang,
Bin Sun,
Mingfu Wen,
Jiayang Zhang,
Guisheng Zhong,
Ting Fu,
Xiaodong Niu

Affiliations

Longshi Rao: Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China
Qing Zhang: Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China
Bin Sun: Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China
Mingfu Wen: Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China
Jiayang Zhang: Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China
Guisheng Zhong: Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China
Ting Fu: Hubei Key Laboratory of Mechanical Transmission and Manufacturing Engineering, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
Xiaodong Niu: Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12183132
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 12, no. 18
p. 3132

Abstract

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Carbon dots (CDs) are attracting much interest due to their excellent photoelectric properties and wide range of potential applications. However, it is still a challenge to regulate their bandgap emissions to achieve full-color CDs with high emissions. Herein, we propose an approach for producing full-color emissive CDs by employing a solvent engineering strategy. By only tuning the volume ratio of water and dimethylformamide (H2O/DMF), the photoluminescence (PL) emission wavelengths of the CDs can be changed from 451 to 654 nm. Different fluorescence features of multicolor CDs were systematically investigated. XRD, SEM, TEM, Abs/PL/PLE, XPS, and PL decay lifetime characterizations provided conclusive evidence supporting the extent to which the solvent controlled the dehydration and carbonization processes of the precursors, leading to a variation in their emission color from red to blue. The as-prepared CDs exhibited excellent and stable fluorescence performance even after being heated at 80 °C for 48 h and with UV light continuously irradiated for 15 h. Based on their excellent fluorescent properties and photothermal stability, bright multicolor light-emitting diodes with a high CRI of up to 91 were obtained. We anticipate that these full-color emissive CDs are beneficial for applications in lighting, display, and other fields.

Published in Nanomaterials

ISSN: 2079-4991 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science: Chemistry
Website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/nanomaterials

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