Exploring Tetrathiafulvalene-Carbon Nanodot Conjugates in Charge Transfer Reactions

Carbon nanodots (CNDs) were synthesized using low-cost and biocompatible starting materials such as citric acid/urea, under microwave irradiation, and constant pressure conditions. The obtained pressure-synthesized CNDs (pCNDs) were covalently modified with photo- and electroactive π-extended tetrathiafulvalene (exTTF) by means of a two-step esterification reaction, affording pCND-exTTF. The electronic interactions between the pCNDs and exTTF were investigated in the ground and excited states. Ultrafast pump-probe experiments assisted in corroborating that charge separation governs the deactivation of photoexcited pCND-exTTF. These size-regular structures, as revealed by AFM, are stable electron donor-acceptor conjugates of interest for a better understanding of basic processes such as artificial photosynthesis, catalysis, and photovoltaics, involving readily available fluorescent nanodots.