Chicken egg white as a “greener” biomass source for the rapid synthesis of fluorescent carbon dots

Abstract

Most of the methodologies reported to fabricate fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) are not fully sustainable. Here, we report the “green” optimization of our base catalysis method; by using chicken egg white powder, we obtained CDs with a 25.6% fluorescence quantum yield in a one-step synthesis that completes in 6 h and do not require any purification. This improved methodology is faster, cheaper and has a better mass and solvents economy, so it is way “greener”. The effect of three hydroxides was studied and z-potential, UV–Vis, fluorescence and FTIR spectroscopies, and TEM were used as characterization techniques.