Vijay Bhooshan Kumar1,2, D. Aurbach1,2, Y. Shavtal2,3, E. Banin2,3 O. Safi2,4, D. Karasik5, Z. Porat6, V. G. Pol7, Aharon Gedanken1,2
Sonochemistry has been used to develop a one-pot synthesis of carbon dots (C-dots) and doped C-dots based materials. It is demonstrated how various experimental parameters, such as the sonication time, the temperature and the power of sonication affect the size of the C-dots (2-10 nm) and their fluorescence properties. The highest measured quantum yield of emission was ~16-44%. Similarly, we synthesized C-dots doped with metals (Ga, In, Sn) and non-metals (N, P, S) for various physical, chemical, and biomedical applications. The synthesized C-dots were coated on polythene, Si-wafer, glass substrate, and activated carbon (AC). Electrodes made of AC/C-dots demonstrated specific capacitance of 0.185 F.g-1.cm-2, almost 3 times higher than unmodified carbon. The Sn@C-dots@Sn nanoparticles were synthesized and directly deposited on the copper foil current collector as a promising anode for Li-ion batteries. C-dots/TiO2 materials were synthesized and used for photocatalytic activity. The Ga doped in C-dots (Ga@C-dots) and used for antimicrobial activity against free-living P. aeruginosa bacteria. Ga@C-dots was reflected full inhibition of the bacterial growth at the much lower concentration of Ga within Ga@C-dots. Furthermore, we have also synthesized the N doped C-dots (N@CDs) by hydrothermally reacting an aqueous solution of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) with high quantum yield (44 %), high photostability, colloidal stability, and high functionalization efficiency. However, only a few studies have been focused on assessing the fluorescence of N@CDs during in-vivo exposure. Strong fluorescence emission from Zebra Fish (ZF) embryos and larvae successfully confirms the distribution of N@CDs in ZF. Finally, it is concluded that our novel fabricated C-dots and doped C-dots based materials were used for the various applications such as supercapacitor, rechargeable batteries, photocatalysis, biodiesel production, astaxanthin production, antibacterial activity, neuron cell growth, and live cell imaging.