Carbon nanodots are interesting nanomaterials attributed to its unique optical properties. Recently, it has been studied as alternative sensitizers for nanostructured solar cells replacing the typical ruthenium complex and semiconductor quantum dot yielding efficiencies between 0.1 and 1.0%. In this report, the carbon nanodots were prepared from an abundant seaweed polysaccharide, carrageenan, using hydrothermal synthesis. The sizes of the carbon nanodots varies from 3 to 30 nm. Elemental analysis using energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy confirms the presence of sulfur, aside from the typical elements carbon and oxygen, and IR spectroscopy shows the presence of O-S-O vibration at ~848 cm<sup>-1</sup>. This indicates the presence of sulfate functional groups in the surface of the carbon nanodots. Interestingly, the carbon nanodots derived from carrageenan showed varying photoluminescence emission peaks at 368 nm, 440 nm and 515 nm when excited using wavelengths at 310 nm, 350 nm, and 470 nm, respectively. The carbon nanodots were also utilized as sensitizer for nanostructured solar cells which yielded an efficiency ~0.1 %,which is comparable to the reported literatures.<br/>

Preparation of carbon nanodots from carrageenan and its application as sensitizer for nanostructured solar cells

255th National Meeting (2018)

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