White light emission by energy transfer from areca nut husk extract loaded with carbon dots synthesized from the same extract

Abstract

Natural dyes having ability to emit white light have gained great attention in recent years as they have the potential for use as sensors, back-lights and display systems. In this work, luminescence decay and energy transfer in a natural dye extracted from the husk of areca nut, loaded with carbon dots, have been studied for their emission properties. These carbon nanoparticles are prepared from the natural dye of areca nut by a simple and facile hydrothermal treatment. White light emission is achieved from a mixture of areca nut extract and carbon dots prepared from the same extract with good Commission Internationale del’ Eclairage (CIE) index values (0.28, 0.34) on photoexcitation at 380 nm. The areca nut juice is extracted from the husk of the ripened fruit and the carbon nanoparticles prepared have sizes in the range 4–5 nm. These findings suggest auspicious opportunity for using natural dyes with fluorescent nanoparticles for developing white luminescent display systems.