Synthesis of Blue-Luminescence Graphene Quantum Dots Using Hydrothermal Method

Abstract

This paper described the synthesis of graphene quantum dot (GQDs) by hydrothermal method using graphene (average thickness of 7 nm) as a precursor material. At first, graphene was diluted in n-butyl acetate to obtain uniform mixture through sonication. Then, graphene was transferred into Teflon-lined autoclave and to be heated at different period of times to obtain resultant GQDs.The synthesised GQDs was characterized by using FT-IR Spectrometer (FTIR), UV-VIS Spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Typically, the absorption peak of GQDs were observed around 260 nm and 330 nm in UV-VIS spectra due to π →π * transition of aromatic sp2 domain. This GQD has a broad peak and emit strong PL, light centred at 440 nm upon excitation at 260 nm. Thus, blue-luminescent GQDs are demonstrated, with a material performance that is competitive with GQDs produced by other methods.