A Practical Guide to Prepare and Synthetically Modify Graphene Quantum Dots

Abstract

Due to the favorable properties of graphene quantum dots (GQDs), there has been a rapid development of sensors, devices, and composite materials, which incorporate this 0D nanomaterial. GQDs provide a means to instill superior optical, electronic, mechanical, and adsorptive properties to various platforms and have found use as biosensors, photovoltaic devices, polymer composites, and drug delivery vehicles. One of the key factors to successfully integrating GQD technology is the intelligent choice of synthetic chemical pathways to fabricate, modify, and instill functionality in the developed platform. GQDs are decorated with a variety of functional groups that are amenable to traditional synthetic chemistry transformations; however, the technology for post-synthetic modifications is only in its infancy. Herein, a comprehensive analysis of the chemistry available for modifying GQDs is provided; starting from methods for GQD fabrication and synthetic chemical pathways for producing functional GQDs, to the advantages, disadvantages, and challenges of specific chemistries, and finally techniques for the appropriate characterization of these functional materials. This review is meant for researchers considering entering the GQD field, as well as those more experienced, providing a practical guide on how to prepare, modify, and characterize GQDs for a broad range of applications.

Synthesis of graphene quantum dots and their applications in drug delivery

“…The existing methods for GQDs synthesis can be generally divided into top-down and bottom-up processes (Fig. 1) [22]. As the bottom-up methods, synthesis of GQDs requires complex reaction steps and specific organic materials, making it difficult to optimize the conditions.…”

Graphene Oxide‐Cyclic R10 Peptide Nuclear Translocation Nanoplatforms for the Surmounting of Multiple‐Drug Resistance

“…[ 20,33,34 ] Graphite could be exfoliated to small sheets, 15–30 nm, via intensified oxidation processes. [ 35,36 ] The obtained nanographene oxide (nGO) contains a large number of epoxy and hydroxyl functional groups on the basal plane and carboxyl on its edges. [ 36 ] Moreover, hyperbranched polyglycerol (hPG) with great potential in a wide range of biomedical applications, including drug delivery, tissue engineering, and pathogen interactions, [ 37,38 ] has been used to improve the biological safety and performances of nanomaterials, such as graphene.…”

Facile synthesis of graphene quantum dots from glucan and their application as a deoxidizer and in cell imaging

“…[8][9][10] Hence, GQDs have significant potential applications in biological imaging and displays, chemical/photo/electro-catalysis, flexible devices, energy conversion and storage, sensing, and theranostics. [11][12][13] At present, the synthesis of GQDs has been divided into two categories: the top-down method and the bottom-up method. 14 The former is a classical and extensively used method, in which GQDs are synthesized from carbon materials (including graphene, fullerenes, and carbon nanotubes) by cutting them via chemical or physical methods, such as oxidative cleavage, electrochemical oxidation, and laser ablation.…”