Green and efficient synthesis of carbon quantum dots from cordia myxa L. and their application in photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes

Abstract

In this work, carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were synthesized through a simple and green hydrothermal method with the usage of green materials. The synthesis of CQDs was confirmed by the results of various analyses such as XRD, EDX, FT-IR, and UV–Vis, while their size and morphology were determined by the TEM and FESEM images. This product contained a pseudo spherical morphology with an average size of 2.2 nm. The good photoluminescence (PL) intensity and quantum yield (QY) of the CQDs were confirmed using the PL spectra. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activity of the prepared CQDs was examined in the degradation of the four organic dyes including methylene blue (MB), crystal violet (CV), methyl orange (MO), and eriochrome black T (EBT) under UV irradiation, while the effective parameters including pH, amount of photocatalyst, and dye concentration were optimized.