Blue, green, yellow and red carbon dots: confined synthesis and mechanism study†

Abstract

Preparing carbon dots with multicolor emissions and revealing their synthesis mechanisms have become a research focus. In this work, a confined synthesis method was introduced to synthesize blue, green, yellow and red carbon dots. It was observed that within the interlayer space of 2D layered double hydroxides, the emission wavelengths of the synthesized carbon dots were significantly regularly shifted. Experimental and theoretical analyses revealed that the confined microenvironment resulted in a 2D crystallized and reduced state structure. Moreover, the emission wavelength could be further exquisitely regulated by changing the microscopic arrangement of the reactants in a confined space. This study represents a significant advance in manipulating the nanostructures of carbon materials utilizing a confined environment.