Luminescent carbon-based nanomaterials hold great promise due to their stable photo-physical behaviour, biocompatibility and lower toxicity. This work involves economic and facile one-pot green synthesis of water-soluble nanostructures from lemon grass (LGNS) [Cymbopogon citratus (DC) Stapf] as carbon source. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy confirmed the formation of LGNS with lattice spacing of 0.23 nm matching low-dimensional graphitic structures. The strong absorption exhibited at 278 nm could be attributed to л-states of sp 2 /sp 3 hybridisation in carbon nanostructures. Fluorescence spectroscopy of LGNS exhibited strong excitation-dependent emission properties over a broad range of wavelengths from 300 to 600 nm. Quantitatively, these LGNS were estimated to have quantum yield of 23.3%. Biomass derived LGNS could be potentially exploited for wide variety of applications like bioimaging, up-conversion, drug delivery and optoelectronic devices. To this extent, synthesised LGNS were used to image yeast cells via multicolour/multiexcitation fluorescence imaging.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.