Fabrication of fluorescent nitrogen-rich graphene quantum dots by tin(iv) catalytic carbonization of ethanolamine

Abstract

A novel metal catalytic strategy, arising from the coordinated interaction between metal ions tin(IV) and ethanolamine, was presented to prepare nitrogen-rich graphene quantum dots (N-rich GQDs) with excellent luminescence properties. In contrast to previous GQDs produced by the bottom-up route, which usually involves complex and harsh synthetic procedures, we obtained N-rich GQDs using a single reactant source under mild reaction conditions. Moreover, the prepared N-rich GQDs have shown promising applications as a fluorescence probe toward folic acid.