Synthesis, Purification, and Characterization of Carbon Dots from Non-Activated and Activated Pyrolytic Carbon Black

• Published in: Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 12; no. 3; p. 298
• Main Authors: González-González, Reyna Berenice, González, Lucy Teresa, Madou, Marc, Leyva-Porras, César, Martinez-Chapa, Sergio Omar, Mendoza, Alberto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 18.01.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Activated carbon; Biocompatibility; Black carbon; Carbon; Carbon black; Carbon dots; carbon nanoparticles; chemical activation; Chemical synthesis; Chromatography; Dialysis; Fluorescence spectroscopy; Fourier transforms; Functional groups; Hemodialysis; Infrared spectroscopy; Microscopy; Nanomaterials; Optical properties; Oxidation; Particle size; Photoelectron spectroscopy; Photoelectrons; Photoluminescence; Photons; Precursors; Purification; Radiation; Raman spectra; Raman spectroscopy; Spectrum analysis; Tires; top-down synthesis; Transmission electron microscopy; waste valorization; X ray photoelectron spectroscopy; United States > US; carbon nanoparticles; top-down synthesis; waste valorization; chemical activation
• ISSN: 2079-4991; 2079-4991
• DOI: 10.3390/nano12030298

In this work, carbon dots were created from activated and non-activated pyrolytic carbon black obtained from waste tires, which were then chemically oxidized with HNO . The effects caused to the carbon dot properties were analyzed in detail through characterization techniques such as ion chromatography; UV-visible, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Raman spectroscopy; ζ potential; transmission electron microscopy (TEM); and spectrofluorometry. The presence of functional groups on the surface of all carbon dots was revealed by UV-visible, FTIR, XPS, and Raman spectra. The higher oxidation degrees of carbon dots from activated precursors compared to those from nonactivated precursors resulted in differences in photoluminescence (PL) properties such as bathochromic shift, lower intensity, and excitation-dependent behavior. The results demonstrate that the use of an activating agent in the recovery of pyrolytic carbon black resulted in carbon dots with different PL properties. In addition, a dialysis methodology is proposed to overcome purification obstacles, finding that 360 h were required to obtain pure carbon dots synthesized by a chemical oxidation method.