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Updated: Aug 17, 2025

Author Spotlight: Advancing SERS Technology: Au@Carbon Dot Nanoprobes for Label-Free Analysis and Imaging
Published on: June 9, 2023
Optical Properties of Tricarboxylic Acid-Derived Carbon Dots
Aleksandra Tomskaya1,2,3, Igor P Asanov4, Irina Yushina4
1A.M. Prokhorov General Physics Institute, RAS, Moscow 119991, Russia.
Abstract:
Herein, we report the characterization of two types of luminescent carbon dots (CDs) synthesized by the hydrothermal treatment of citric acid and trans-aconitic acid by using ammonia solution as a nitrogen dopant. The lateral size range of nanoparticles for CDs lies in the range of 3-15 nm. The intense blue photoluminescence (PL) was emitted by the CDs at around 409-435 nm under the excitation of 320 nm. The PL quantum yield of the synthesized CDs ranged from 26.4 to 51%. Our results of the structural and optical properties of CDs imply that molecular fluorophores are an important part of the structure; in particular, the main contribution to the PL is carried by the fluorophores based on citrazinic acid derivatives, which formed during the synthesis of CDs.
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