A new green technology for direct synthesis of carbon nanodots with narrow size distribution

Abstract

Highly monodisperse carbon nanodots are synthesized by a surfactant-free polymerization and subsequent carbonization process, which is a straightforward and environmental-friendly approach. Uniform polypyrrole nanoparticles with a diameter of ca. 10 nm are successfully fabricated using low temperature polymerization. Subsequent carbonization of polypyrrole leads to the formation of carbon nanodots having an average diameter of 8 nm. Structural information analysis is carried out to clarify the structure of carbon nanodots. Moreover, spectroscopic investigation on the carbon nanodots is conducted to achieve an in-depth examination on the characteristics of carbon nanodots.