Carbon Dots/Iron Oxide Nanoparticles with Tuneable Composition and Properties

Abstract

We present a simple strategy to generate a family of carbon dots/iron oxide nanoparticles (C/Fe-NPs) that relies on the thermal decomposition of iron (III) acetylacetonate in the presence of a highly fluorescent carbon-rich precursor (derived via thermal treatment of ethanolamine and citric acid at 180 °C), while polyethylene glycol serves as the passivation agent. By varying the molar ratio of the reactants, a series of C/Fe-NPs have been synthesized with tuneable elemental composition in terms of C, H, O, N and Fe. The quantum yield is enhanced from 6 to 9% as the carbon content increases from 27 to 36 wt%, while the room temperature saturation magnetization is improved from 4.1 to 17.7 emu/g as the iron content is enriched from 17 to 31 wt%. In addition, the C/Fe-NPs show excellent antimicrobial properties, minimal cytotoxicity and demonstrate promising bioimaging capabilities, thus showing great potential for the development of advanced diagnostic tools.

Combustion-Induced Endothermic Process in Carbon Dots Synthesized on Magnetite Nanoparticle Substrate

“…While somewhat reduced due to a significant change in the relative contribution of carbon to Figure 3 provides the FTIR spectra for the CDot and CDot-magnetite samples. The CDot sample has similar features to many reported CDot samples serving as a means of fingerprint identification of carbon dot formation [18,20,23]. An analysis of the IR spectrum shows strong OH features (>3000 cm −1 ), CH stretch (~2920), and carbonyl (~1700 cm −1 ) signatures, and a multitude of stretches within the fingerprint region.…”

“…Hu et al prepared carbon-iron oxide hybrid dots via a microwave-induced solid thermal reaction and demonstrated that the photophysical properties of the CDots were not impacted by the presence of, or their interaction with, the iron oxide [17]. Stachowska et al prepared a series of C/Fe-NPs by reacting iron acetylacetonate with a pre-formed carbon nanoparticle precursor with polyethylene glycol as capping agent to produce C/Fe-NPs of varying compositions [18]. The particles were studied to determine the effect of composition on their optical and magnetic properties.…”

Carbon dots: Types, preparation, and their boosted antibacterial activity by photoactivation. Current status and future perspectives

“…Wang et al, 2022). Some CBM, such as CDs and their composites, can generate ROS and heat under photon irradiation to induce the death of bacteria (Chu, Wang, et al, 2022;Stachowska et al, 2022;Q. Xu, Cai, et al, 2022).…”

“…Wang et al, 2022). Some CBM, such as CDs and their composites, can generate ROS and heat under photon irradiation to induce the death of bacteria (Chu, Wang, et al, 2022; Stachowska et al, 2022; Q. Xu, Cai, et al, 2022). For example, one study obtained a CDs‐based composite from citric acid, urea, and cupric chloride dihydrate by a solvothermal method, in which dimethylsulfoxide was selected as the solvent.…”