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Prior to further purification, carbon dots interact with the fluorescent impurities of their synthesis to produce hybrid luminescence.

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Carbon dots (CDs) have attracted considerable interest from the scientific community due to their exceptional properties, such as high photoluminescence, broadband absorption, low toxicity, water solubility and (photo)chemical stability. As a result, they have been applied in several fields, such as sensing, bioimaging, artificial lighting and catalysis. In particular, CDs may act as sole photocatalysts or as part of photocatalytic nanocomposites. This study aims to provide a comprehensive review on the use of CDs as sole photocatalysts in the areas of hydrogen production via water splitting, photodegradation of organic pollutants and photoreduction and metal removal from wastewaters. Furthermore, key limitations preventing a wider use of CDs as photocatalysts are pointed out. It is our hope that this review will serve as a basis on which researchers may find useful information to develop sustainable methodologies for the synthesis and use of photocatalytic CDs.

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