Carbon nanoparticles (carbon dots) often emit strong blue color and weak excitation wavelength dependent other colors (mostly green and yellow), which is quite different from traditional inorganic metal-chalcogenide based quantum dots. Apparently, this situation seriously limits the broad application potentials of carbon dots. But it is challenging to synthesize carbon dots with various bright color emissions that are ideally excitation wavelength independent, and few relevant reports have been published. We present here that it is possible to prepare carbon dots emitting different colors and the emissions are strictly excitation wavelength independent when they are dispersed in different solvents. This unique and broad solvatochromic spectra can also be realized when the same carbon dots are mixed with different polymers as stable solid state phosphors. All of the visible colors can be seen using a single UV light excitation source, and the solid state emissions are still excitation wavelength independent. These solid state carbon dots are easily applied as LED phosphors for various visible colors.

Multicolor carbon dots based on solvatochromism

255th National Meeting (2018)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.