Carbonized Polymer Dots Research Articles

Ratiometric and visual determination of copper ions with fluorescent nanohybrids of semiconducting polymer nanoparticles and carbon dots

Developing nanohybrid composition based fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) for ratiometric detection of copper ions is highly appealing. Herein, a ratiometric sensing platform (GCDs@RSPN) for copper ions detection has been developed by loaded green fluorescence carbon dots (GCDs) on the surface of red emission semiconducting polymer nanoparticles (RSPN) through electrostatic adsorption. The GCDs, featuring abundant amino groups, can selectively bind copper ions to induce the photoinduced electron transfer, leading to fluorescence quenching. A good linearity within the range of 0–100 μM is obtained, and the limit of detection (LOD) is 0.577 μM by using obtained GCDs@RSPN as ratiometric probe to detect copper ion. Moreover, the paper-based sensor derived from GCDs@RSPN was successfully applied for the visual detection of Cu2+.

Highly hygroscopicity and antioxidant nanofibrous dressing base on alginate for accelerating wound healing

The removal of bacterium and free radicals is important for wound healing. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare biological dressings with antibacterial and antioxidant properties. In this study, high-performance calcium alginate/carbon polymer dots/forsythin composite nanofibrous membrane (CA/CPDs/FT) was explored under the influence of carbon polymer dots and forsythin. The addition of carbon polymer dots improved the nanofiber morphology and therefore enhanced the mechanical strength of the composite membrane. Moreover, CA/CPDs/FT membranes displayed satisfactory antibacterial and antioxidant properties because of the natural properties of forsythin. Meanwhile, outstanding hygroscopicity over 700% was also obtained for the composite membrane. In vitro and in vivo experiments showed that the CA/CPDs/FT nanofibrous membrane could prevent the invasion of bacteria, scavenge free radicals, and promote wound healing. Moreover, its good hygroscopicity and antioxidation characteristics were friendly for the clinical application of high-exudate wounds.

Improved mechanical-physical performances of copper composites with reduced graphene oxide and carbonized polymer dots as multi-scale synergetic reinforcements

The development of high-performance (structure-function integration) Cu matrix composites have become a focus by introducing the novel hybrid carbon nanomaterials and giving full play to the synergistic effect. It is a great challenge to homogeneously disperse the ex-situ nano-filler within matrix for excellent performances. In this study, the two-dimensional reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and zero-dimensional carbonized polymer dots (CPD) were incorporated with Cu-based powders by the molecular level mixing (MLM) and high-energy ball milling (HBM) methods, respectively. Results revealed that RGO (MLM)/CPD (HBM)-Cu bulk composites sintered at 650 °C displayed higher ultimate tensile strength (367 MPa) and better failure strain (∼30%) as compared with pure Cu (MLM/HBM). Meanwhile, the electrical conductivity of RGO (MLM)/CPD (HBM)-Cu was almost equal to that of pure Cu (93.74% IACS), exhibiting a promising prospect in applications as advanced multifunctional structural materials. It was well proved that the interface strength of RGO-Cu and the dispersibility of hybrid reinforcements were improved by the incorporation of CPD, which further enhanced the synergistic effects of (CPD + RGO) and achieved better mechanical-physical performances.

Renal-friendly Li+-doped carbonized polymer dots activate Schwann cell autophagy for promoting peripheral nerve regeneration.

Activation of autophagy in Schwann cells (SCs) has emerged as a powerful trigger for peripheral nerve injury (PNI) repair. Lithium ion (Li+) is a classical autophagy activator that plays an important role in promoting axonal extension and remyelination. However, the therapeutic window of existing lithium drugs is extremely narrow, and the adverse side effects, especially nephrotoxicity, severely limit their therapeutic value. Herein, Li+-doped carbonized polymer dots (Li-CPDs) was synthesized for the first time to change the pharmacokinetics of Li+ from occupying epithelial sodium channels to lipid raft-mediated endocytosis. The in-vivo results confirmed that Li-CPDs could accelerate the removal of myelin debris and promote nerve regeneration via activating autophagy of SCs. Moreover, Li-CPDs exhibited almost no renal toxicity compared to that of raw lithium drugs. Thus, Li-CPDs could serve as a promising Li+-based nanomedicine for PNI regeneration with improved biosafety. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Regardless of the fact that lithium drugs have been used in treatment of mental illness such as manic depression, the systemic side effects and renal metabolic toxicity still seriously restrict their clinical application. Since Li+ and Na+ compete for ion channels of cell membrane, the cell entry efficiency is extremely low and easily affected by body fluctuations, which seems to be an unsolvable problem. Herein, we rationally exploited the endocytotic features of CPDs to develop Li-CPDs. The Li-CPDs improved the entry pathway, greatly reduced nephrotoxicity, and inherited the biological function of Li+ to activate autophagy for promoting peripheral nerve regeneration. Due to the BBB-crossing property of Li-CPDs, it also showed application prospects in future research on central nervous system diseases.

Defect-rich ruthenium dioxide electrocatalyst enabled by electronic reservoir effect of carbonized polymer dot for remarkable pH-universal oxygen evolution

Designing highly active and durable electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) over a wide pH range is of great significance, but it remains challenging. Herein, a defect-rich RuO2 electrocatalyst with pH-universal OER activity is developed by rationally utilizing the electronic reservoir effect of Mn-coordinated carbonized polymer dots (Mn-CPDs). Mn-CPDs as distinct electron acceptor/donor endows Ru-O sites of RuO2 with abundant defective structures (i.e., O-Ru-O-Ru-Ru sites and O-Ru-O-Mn units) via reduction-oxidation processes, with incorporated Mn atoms simultaneously feeding electron to Ru. The resultant Ru-O-Mn/CPD exhibits an ultralow OER potential of 196 mV, 194 mV and 251 mV at 10 mA·cm−2 under 0.5 M H2SO4, 1.0 M KOH, and 1.0 M PBS media, respectively, and long-term catalytic stability, which are among the best OER electrocatalysts. Surprisingly, Ru-O-Mn/CPD also shows great Pt-like hydrogen evolution activity. The theoretical simulation indicates that defective Ru-O-Mn structures produce electron-rich Ru region and near-optimal Ru-4d/O-2p band center, thus optimizing the adsorption/desorption kinetics of key intermediates.

Moist‐Electric Generator with Efficient Output and Scalable Integration Based on Carbonized Polymer Dot and Liquid Metal Active Electrode

AbstractMoisture‐enabled electricity generation (MEG) is highly promising in next‐generation energy conversion. However, the practical applications of existing MEG devices are limited due to their low current and voltage outputs, strong dependence on high moisture, and inflexible nature. Herein, an efficient MEG integrated with flexible, all‐weather, and scalable fabrication characteristics based on the rational combination of carbonized polymer dots (CPDs) and liquid metal (LM) active electrodes is developed for the first time. Remarkably, the fabricated MEG device can produce a stable voltage output of 800 mV and a record high current density of 1640 µA cm−2. Even at a low air humidity of 15%, the MEG device can provide a high voltage output of 0.65 V and a considerable current density of 12 µA cm−2. The prompted diffusion of hydrogen ions in CPDs and the additional metal ions ionized from the LM electrode contribute synergistically to the high electricity generation. Additionally, the device can be easily integrated on various flexible substrates and generate an ultrahigh voltage of 210 V to power commercial electronics, showing great potential in large‐scale fabrication and application.

Hierarchical porous carbon synthesis by carbonized polymer dots-based sacrificial template for high-performance supercapacitors

The performance of carbon-based supercapacitors is primarily determined by their porous carbons with customizable structures. Targeted regulation of the porous' size and amount is a crucial but challenging research topic to pursue higher power density and energy density. Additional loading of carbonized polymer dots (CPDs) on existing materials to optimize pore structures and modify pseudocapacitive groups is a feasible alternative. CPDs are treated as the desirable hard template, due to their high stability and controlled small-size to tailor reasonable pore distribution. Here, the hierarchical porous carbon was fabricated by activating the composite of CPDs and hyper-crosslinking polymer (HCP), which originated from the Friedel-Crafts reaction of small molecules. After the CPDs self-sacrificing template method based on the “excavation” of CPDs with small size (＜10 nm) by KOH, the optimal material owned abundant small mesopores (2 ∼ 10 nm) and large specific surface area (4241 m2·g−1). Thanks to the excellent structures, the optimized product yielded ultrahigh energy density at high power density (35.8 Wh·kg−1at 37497 W·kg−1) in 1 M TEATFB/PC. Thus, the CPDs-based pore-formation and regulation strategy is a potentially helpful alternative for fabricating high performance carbon-based supercapacitors.

Polymer–Structure‐Induced Room‐Temperature Phosphorescence of Carbon Dot Materials

As emerging carbon‐based nanomaterials, carbon dots (CDs) are widely studied with regard to their luminescent properties. CDs obtained by the bottom‐up method exhibit polymeric characteristics after crosslinking, polymerization, and incomplete carbonization processes, herein referred to as carbonized polymer dots (CPDs). In recent years, large progress has been achieved on the room‐temperature phosphorescence (RTP) properties of CPDs. The developments and synthesis strategies for RTP CPD materials are reviewed. However, less attention has been devoted to the influence of polymeric structures on RTP of CPD materials. Polymer structures are a common feature of CPD materials. The extensive polymer structures are the key factors facilitating the RTP of CPD materials. Herein, the effects of the polymer structures on the RTP emission of self‐protective CPD and matrix‐assisted CPD materials are discussed. It is considered that the polymer structures can effectively immobilize subluminophores and protect triplet excited states to facilitate the RTP emission of CPD materials. The crosslink‐enhanced emission (CEE) effect is proposed to further explain the RTP emission of CPD materials, which can provide an effective strategy to immobilize CPDs. Benefiting from CEE effect, efficient RTP can be achieved for CPD materials. The applications of CPD materials are then briefly summarized.

Epigallocatechin gallate-derived carbonized polymer dots: A multifunctional scavenger targeting Alzheimer's β-amyloid plaques.

The design of high-efficiency scavengers targeting β-amyloid protein (Aβ) plaques in the progress of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been recognized as an effective way to prevent and treat AD. Herein, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)-derived carbonized polymer dots (E-CPDs) were synthesized for the first time via a hydrothermal method using EGCG, an Aβ inhibitor, as one of the raw materials. The inhibitory efficiency and fluorescent property of E-CPDs were elegantly modulated by adjusting the molar ratio of EGCG to nitrogen-containing dopant, o-phenylenediamine (oPD), and 75E-CPDs fabricated with 75 mM EGCG and 50 mM oPD showed the highest inhibitory capability. The multifunctionality of 75E-CPDs on inhibition of Aβ fibrillization, Aβ fibrils disaggregation, amyloid fluorescent detection, and intracellular reactive oxygen species scavenging was demonstrated. 75E-CPDs inhibited the formation of β-sheet-rich Aβ aggregates, alleviated Aβ-induced cytotoxicity of cultured cells from 47% to 15%, and prolonged the lifespan of AD nematodes by scavenging in vivo amyloid plaques, demonstrating much higher performance than either EGCG or EGCG-free carbon dots. Notably, 75E-CPDs could rapidly disaggregate Aβ fibrils on "second" scale, faster than any other disaggregating agents. The aromatic structure as well as hydroxyl and carboxyl groups existing on 75E-CPDs surface, which would interact with Aβ species via hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interactions, and hydrophobic interactions, played critical roles in their inhibition and disaggregation capabilities. This work reveals that potent CDs can be fabricated by using an Aβ inhibitor as the precursor, providing a new perspective for the design of multifunctional scavengers targeting amyloid plaques. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the top ten causes of death worldwide and seriously threatens human health. Recently, carbon nanomaterials have attracted much attention because of their good biocompatibility and capability in modulating Aβ aggregation via multiple interactions. This work has for the first time fabricated epigallocatechin gallate-derived carbonized polymer dots (E-CPDs) and revealed the multifunctional potency of E-CPDs on alleviating the multifaced symptoms associated with β-amyloid protein (Aβ) fibrillization in the progression of AD. Notably, E-CPDs exhibited enhanced fluorescence emission upon binding to Aβ fibrils, possessing potential as Aβ fluorescent probes. It is believed that this work would open a new horizon in the design of multifunctional carbon nanomaterials as a potent amyloid scavenger for AD theranostics.

Green Light-Triggerable Chemo-Photothermal Activity of Cytarabine-Loaded Polymer Carbon Dots: Mechanism and Preliminary In Vitro Evaluation.

Carbon-based nanostructures are attracting a lot of attention because of their very low toxicity, excellent visible light-triggered optical and photothermal properties, and intriguing applications. Currently, the development of multifunctional carbon-based nanostructures for a synergistic chemo-photothermal approach is a challenging topic for the advancement of cancer treatment. Here, we report an unprecedented example of photoresponsive carbon-based polymer dots (CPDs-PNM) obtained by a one-pot thermal process from poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) without using organic solvent and additional reagents. The CPDs-PNM nanostructures were characterized by spectroscopic techniques, transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The CPDs-PNM exhibited high photothermal conversion efficiency, lower critical solution temperature (LCST) behavior, and good cytarabine (arabinosyl cytosine, AraC) loading capacity (62.3%). The formation of a CPDs-PNM/AraC adduct and photothermal-controlled drug release, triggered by green light excitation, were demonstrated by spectroscopic techniques, and the drug-polymer interaction and drug release mechanism were well supported by modeling simulation calculations. The cellular uptake of empty and AraC-loaded CPDs-PNM was imaged by confocal laser scanning microscopy. In vitro experiments evidenced that CPDs-PNM did not affect the viability of neuroblastoma cells, while the CPDs-PNM/AraC adduct under light irradiation exhibited significantly higher toxicity than AraC alone by a combined chemo-photothermal effect.

A soy protein-based adhesive with improved mechanical and electromagnetic shielding properties by employment of core@double-shell BT@PDA@PANI fillers

Resolving indoor electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radiation pollution caused by electromagnetic waves have become paramount. Plywood is broadly used in interior decoration and give them EMI shielding function will be significant for addressing these issues. Herein, inspired by the mussel underwater bonding strategy and oyster, polydopamine (PDA) graft transition layer was introduced between inorganic BaTiO3 (BT) core layer and organic polyaniline (PANI) shell layer to construct controllable core@double-shell BT@PDA@PANI nanoparticles. The epoxide polymer and aldehyde-decorated carbon dots (CDs) were used as crosslinkers to form the covalent bonds and dynamic covalent bonds within the adhesive network. The core@double-shell nanoparticles were used as a reinforcing element and crosslinker to construct an organic–inorganic hybrid protein adhesive. This as-prepared protein adhesive exhibits remarkable improvements in wet shear strength (1.16 MPa), dry shear strength (1.97 MPa), and water resistance. Encouragingly, the plywood with in-situ formulated adhesives is an absorption dominated EMI shielding material and reveals an excellent EMI SET of 38.04 dB EMI in the X-band, significantly outperforming most of the reported synthetic materials. This outstanding performance is attributable to its superior conductivity and unique hierarchical structure of plywood. Therefore, this study offers a facile, environmentally-friendly, and economically feasible strategy for preparing high-performance adhesives to address indoor EMI problems.

Unraveling the Structure Transition and Peroxidase Mimic Activity of Copper Sites over Atomically Dispersed Copper‐Doped Carbonized Polymer Dots

AbstractThe lack of systematic structural resolution makes it difficult to build specific transition‐metal‐atom‐doped carbonized polymer dots (TMA‐doped CPDs). Herein, the structure‐activity relationship between Cu atoms and CPDs was evaluated by studying the peroxidase‐like properties of Glu−Cu−CPDs prepared by using copper glutamate (Glu) with a Cu−N2O2 initial structure. The results showed that the Cu atoms bound to Glu−Cu−CPDs in the form of Cu−N2C2, indicating that Cu−O bonds changed into Cu−C bonds under hydrothermal conditions. This phenomenon was also observed in other copper‐doped CPDs. Moreover, the carboxyl and amino groups content decreased after copper‐atom doping. Theoretical calculations revealed a dual‐site catalytic mechanism for catalyzing H2O2. The detection of intracellular H2O2 suggested their application prospects. Our study provides an in‐depth understanding of the formation and catalytic mechanism of TMA‐doped‐CPDs, allowing for the generation specific TMA‐doped‐CPDs.

Unraveling the Structure Transition and Peroxidase Mimic Activity of Copper Sites Over Atomically Dispersed Copper-Doped Carbonized Polymer Dots.

The lack of systematic structural resolution makes it difficult to build specific transition metal atoms-doped carbonized polymer dots(TMAs-doped-CPDs). Herein, the structure-activity relationship between Cu atoms and CPDs was evaluated by studying the peroxidase-like properties of Glu-Cu-CPDs prepared by using copper glutamate (Glu) with Cu-N2O2 initial structure. The results showed that the Cu atoms bound to Glu-Cu-CPDs in the form of Cu-N2C2, indicating that Cu-O bonds changed into Cu-C bonds under hydrothermal conditions. This phenomenon was also observed in other Cu-doped-CPDs. Moreover, the carboxyl and amino groups content decreased after Cu-atom doping. Theoretical calculations revealed a dual-site catalytic mechanism for catalyzing H2O2. Eventually, the detection of intracellular H2O2 suggested their application prospects. Our work provides an in-depth understanding on the formation and catalysis mechanism of TMAs-doped-CPDs, allowing for building specific TMAs-doped-CPDs.

Carbonized Polymer Dots Assemble in Proton-Conducting Channels to Enhance the Conductivity and Selectivity Simultaneously for High-Performance Fuel Cells.

Fabricating polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs) simultaneously with high ion conductivity and selectivity has always been an ultimate goal in many membrane-integrated systems for energy conversion and storage. Constructing broader ion-conducting channels usually enables high-efficient ion conductivity while often bringing increased crossover of other ions or molecules simultaneously, resulting in decreased selectivity. Here, the ultra-small carbon dots (CDs) with the selective barriers are self-assembled within proton-conducting channels of PEMs through electrostatic interaction to enhance the proton conductivity and selectivity simultaneously. The functional CDs regulate the nanophase separation of PEMs and optimize the hydration proton network enabling higher-efficient proton transport. Meanwhile, the CDs within proton-conducting channels prevent fuel from permeating selectively due to their repelling and spatial hindrance against fuel molecules, resulting in highly enhanced selectivity. Benefiting from the improved conductivity and selectivity, the open-circuit voltage and maximum power density of the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) equipped with the hybrid membranes raised by 23% and 93%, respectively. This work brings new insight to optimize polymer membranes for efficient and selective transport of ions or small molecules, solving the trade-off of conductivity and selectivity.

Carbonized Polymer Dots with Controllable N, O Functional Groups as Electrolyte Additives to Achieve Stable Li Metal Batteries.

Electrolyte additive is an effective strategy to inhibit the uncontrolled growth of Li dendrites for lithium metal batteries (LMBs). However, most of the additives are complex synthesis and prone to decompose in cycling. Herein, in order to guide the homogeneous deposition of Li+ , carbonized polymer dots (CPDs) as electrolyte additives are successfully designed and synthesized by microwave (M-CPDs) and hydrothermal (H-CPDs) approaches. The controllable functional groups containing N or O (especially pyridinic-N, pyrrolic-N, and carboxyl group) enable CPDs to keep stable in electrolytes for at least 3 months. Meanwhile, the clusters formed between CPDs and Li+ through electrostatic interaction effectively guide the uniform Li dispersion and limit the "tip effect" and dendrite formation. Moreover, as lithiophilic groups increase, the strong electrostatic interference for the solvation effect of Li+ in the electrolyte is formed, which induces faster Li+ diffusion/transfer. As expected, H-CPDs achieve the ultra-even Li+ transfer. The corresponding Li//LiFePO4 full cell delivers a high capacity retention rate of 93.8% after 200 cycles, which is much higher than that of the cells without additives (61.2%) and with M-CPDs (83.7%) as additives. The strategy in this work provides a theoretical direction for CPDs as electrolyte additives used in energy storage devices.

Dual Nanofillers-Reinforced Noncovalently Cross-Linked Polymeric Composites with Unprecedented Mechanical Strength

Open AccessCCS ChemistryRESEARCH ARTICLES9 Dec 2022Dual Nanofillers-Reinforced Noncovalently Cross-Linked Polymeric Composites with Unprecedented Mechanical Strength Ni An, Youliang Zhu, Xiaohan Wang, Yixuan Li, Junjun Liu, Xu Fang, Zhongyuan Lu, Bai Yang and Junqi Sun Ni An Google Scholar More articles by this author , Youliang Zhu Google Scholar More articles by this author , Xiaohan Wang Google Scholar More articles by this author , Yixuan Li Google Scholar More articles by this author , Junjun Liu Google Scholar More articles by this author , Xu Fang Google Scholar More articles by this author , Zhongyuan Lu Google Scholar More articles by this author , Bai Yang Google Scholar More articles by this author and Junqi Sun Google Scholar More articles by this author https://doi.org/10.31635/ccschem.022.202202496 SectionsSupplemental MaterialAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail Noncovalently cross-linked polymer materials can reduce materials consumption and alleviate environmental pollution through healing, recycling, and reprocessing. However, it remains a huge challenge to fabricate superstrong noncovalently cross-linked polymer materials with mechanical strength comparable to highperformance engineering polymers. Herein, healable and reprocessable noncovalently cross-linked polymer composites with an unprecedented mechanical strength are fabricated by complexation of polyacrylic acid (PAA), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVPON) and carbonized polymer dots (CPDs) (denoted as PAA-PVPON-CPDs). The incorporation of 15 wt% CPDs generates PAA-PVPON-CPDs composites with a tensile strength of ~158 MPa and Young’s modulus of ~8.2 GPa. Serving as nanofillers, the CPDs can establish strong interactions with polymers in PAA-PVPON composites. The CPDs and the in situ-formed PAA-PVPON nanoparticles work in concert to significantly strengthen the PAA-PVPON-CPDs composites to an unprecedented strength. The PAAPVPON-CPDs composites exhibit excellent impact resistance and damage tolerance because of the high mechanical strength of the composites and the energy dissipation mechanism of the CPDs and PAA-PVPON nanoparticles. Moreover, the fractured PAA-PVPON-CPDs composites can be healed to restore their original mechanical strength. Download figure Download PowerPoint Previous articleNext article FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Issue AssignmentVolume 0Issue jaPage: 1-27Supporting Information Copyright & Permissions© 2022 Chinese Chemical Society Downloaded 53 times PDF downloadLoading ...

Stimulating and harnessing circularly polarized luminescence of helically assembled carbonized polymer dots via interfacial dynamics

AbstractStimulating and harnessing circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) is not only a sine qua non for fundamentally unveiling chirogenesis in physical chemistry, but also a pivotal prerequisite for implementation of such phenomenon in research fields including chiral optoelectronics and theranostics. Herein, red‐emissive carbonized polymer dots (CPDs)‐based helical structures were synthesized in this work via biomolecule‐tailored organic–inorganic co‐assembly strategy. The surface states‐related chirality exhibits enhanced circular dichroism (CD) and CPL activities with anisotropic factors as high as gCD,max = 5.4 × 10−3 and glum,max = 1.5 × 10−2, respectively. The obtained CPL signals can be further manipulated in an excitation‐dependent manner, indicating that a synergistic‐competition phenomenon exists between configurational chirality and intermolecular energy‐transfer dynamics, which is further supported by simulations based on density function theory (DFT). Such tunable CPL behavior triggers revolutionary designs and applications of these chiral CPDs into the realm of chirality‐related biological issues and next‐generation chiral optoelectronics.

One-Pot Synthesis of Robust Fluorescent Nanocomposite Gel via Frontal Polymerization.

Fluorescent nanocomposite gels have attracted increasing attention due to their excellent optical properties, as well as enhanced mechanical strength originating from the nanoparticles. At present, two-step methods are usually employed, where fluorescent nanoparticles are firstly prepared, followed by mixing with gel precursor to achieve the final products after gelation, which suffer from the disadvantages of a tedious and time-consuming process. Thus, the development of a facile strategy is highly desirable, which still remains an obstacle. Herein, a new one-pot synthesis method towards robust fluorescent nanocomposite gels via frontal polymerization (FP) is proposed, where small molecular precursors (citric acid (CA) and urea, or L-cysteine) and gel precursor (vinyl monomers) are mixed together as co-reactants. During the FP process, a lot of heat release gives rise to the generation of carbonized polymer dots (CPDs). Thus, companying with the propagating of the polymerization, the production of fluorescent CPDs/gel composite is completed. In addition, as a nanofiller, CPDs dramatically enhance the mechanical property of the CPDs/gel composite. This work proposes a new fast and efficient one-pot strategy for the production of CPDs/gel composite, which will guide the development of high-performance polymer nanocomposites through an in situ synchronous reaction fashion.

Preparation and in vivo imaging of NIR-emissive carbonized polymer dots derived from biomass olive leaves with a quantum yield of 71.4.

The conversion of biomass materials into high value-added chemicals is receiving more and more attention. Herein, biomass olive leaves are converted into carbonized polymer dots (CPDs) through a simple hydrothermal reaction. The CPDs show near infrared light emission properties, and the absolute quantum yield reaches a record breaking value of 71.4% under the excitation wavelength of 413 nm. Detailed characterization determines that CPDs only contain three elements: carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, which is very different from most carbon dots which contain nitrogen atoms. Subsequently, NIR fluorescence imaging both in vitro and in vivo is performed to test their feasibility as fluorescence probes. The metabolic pathways of CPDs in the living body are inferred by studying the bio-distribution of CPDs in major organs. Their outstanding advantage is expected to further broaden the application field of this material.

Fluorometric assay of hydroquinone without interference from catechol and resorcinol based on carbonized polymer dots

Carbonized polymer dots (CPDs) were developed for the quantitative detection of hydroquinone (HQ).