A new green technology for direct synthesis of carbon nanodots with narrow size distribution

Abstract

Abstract Highly monodisperse carbon nanodots are synthesized by a surfactant-free polymerization and subsequent carbonization process, which is a straightforward and environmental-friendly approach. Uniform polypyrrole nanoparticles with a diameter of ca. 10\u2009nm are successfully fabricated using low temperature polymerization. Subsequent carbonization of polypyrrole leads to the formation of carbon nanodots having an average diameter of 8\u2009nm. Structural information analysis is carried out to clarify the structure of carbon nanodots. Moreover, spectroscopic investigation on the carbon nanodots is conducted to achieve an in-depth examination on the characteristics of carbon nanodots.