Chiral carbon dots and their effect on the optical properties of photosensitizers

Abstract

In this work, we have successfully prepared chiral carbon dots from chiral precursors. We prepared a few D-carbon dots using D-methionine, D-glucose, D-glucosamine, and L-carbon dots from L-methionine, L-aspartic acid and L-alanine. We also demonstrate that the chirality of the carbon dots can affect the optical properties of photosensitizer molecules like azobenzene. In the presence of azobenzene, D-carbon dots and L-carbon dots interacted differently when irradiated with UV light, as azobenzene in the presence of UV transforms from stable trans to metastable cis form. Thus azobenzene can react differently with D- and L-carbon dots when irradiated with UV light.