Fullerene-Structural Carbon-Based Dots from C sub(60) Molecules and their Optical Properties

• Published in: Particle & particle systems characterization 2016-12, Vol.33 (12), p.916-923
• Main Authors: Dong, Yongqiang, Fang, Qingqing, Wu, Huan, Wan, Lisi, Lin, Yuhong, Lu, Chun-Hua, Chi, Yuwu, Yang, Huang-Hao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Buckminsterfullerene; Carbon; Fullerenes; Luminescence; Optical properties; Oxidation; Photoluminescence; Synthesis (chemistry)
• ISSN: 0934-0866; 1521-4117
• DOI: 10.1002/ppsc.201600180

Fullerene-structural carbon-based dots (f-CDs) are synthesized for the first time by chemically oxidizing fullerene molecules (C sub(60)) using concentrated HNO sub(3). The lateral sizes of the f-CDs distribute in the range of 7-20 nm, and the heights mainly range from 0.4 to 1.3 nm with an average value of 0.7 nm. The presence of massive pentagonal carbon units makes the f-CDs different from most of graphitic-CDs in structure and morphology. The f-CDs exhibit unique luminescent properties such as photoluminescence (PL) and electrochemiluminescence. Based on the investigation of the UV-vis absorption and luminescent properties, a novel and reasonable model is proposed for the PL mechanism of f-CDs. Furthermore, the obtained f-CDs show low cytotoxicity and have potential application in cell imaging. Fullerene-structural carbon-based dots (f-CDs) are synthesized by chemically oxidizing fullerene C sub(60) molecules. The obtained f-CDs exhibit unique structural characteristics due to the presence of massive pentagonal carbon units. The optical properties of the f-CDs are investigated and discussed, proposing a novel and reasonable model for the photoluminescence mechanisms of the f-CDs.