Unexpected self-assembly of carbon dots during digital light processing 3D printing of vanillin Schiff-base resin

Graphene oxide suspended in ethanol undergoes reduction as it accepts electrons from UV-irradiated TiO(2) suspensions. The reduction is accompanied by changes in the absorption of the graphene oxide, as the color of the suspension shifts from brown to black. The direct interaction between TiO(2) particles and graphene sheets hinders the collapse of exfoliated sheets of graphene. Solid films cast on a borosilicate glass gap separated by gold-sputtered terminations show an order of magnitude decrease in lateral resistance following reduction with the TiO(2) photocatalyst. The photocatalytic methodology not only provides an on-demand UV-assisted reduction technique but also opens up new ways to obtain photoactive graphene-semiconductor composites.

We highlight the recent progress in the practical applications of C-Dots, with particular attention to the research in light-emitting devices, bioimaging and biodetection, catalysis, functional materials, and agriculture. Carbon dots (C-Dots), defined by characteristic sizes of <10 nm, have become a rising star in carbon nanomaterials. C-Dots possess many unique physiochemical and photochemical properties which make them a promising platform for imaging, environmental, catalytic, biological and energy-related applications. To date, C-Dots have been investigated extensively, and their related applications have developed rapidly. However, quantitative understanding of the physiochemical properties of C-Dots still remains a difficult challenge because of their complex structures. Here, we will highlight the recent progress in the practical applications of C-Dots, with particular attention to the research in light-emitting devices, bioimaging and biodetection, catalysis, functional materials, and agriculture.

In this work we report novel chitosan-carbon dots nanocomposite hydrogel films. A new green source "tea" was used as precursor for carbon dots (CDs). The electrostatic interaction of positive charge on chitosan and negative charge on CDs prepared from tea was used for the successful preparation of a stable and robust chitosan-carbon dots nanocomposite hydrogel film. The hydrogel films were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformed infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), fluorescent microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and contact angle analysis. It was observed that chitosan-carbon dots hydrogel films are soft but tough with superior UV-visible blocking, swelling, thermal and mechanical properties in comparison to chitosan hydrogel film. Moreover chitosan-carbon dots films are more water repellent (hydrophobic) as indicated by their high contact angle values. Thus, fabrication of such green soft but tough biocompatible chitosan-carbon dots nanocomposite hydrogel films offers tremendous bio-medical and industrial applications.