title: Ultra-bright alkylated graphene quantum dots.
abstract: Highly efficient and stable photoluminescence (PL) are urgently desired for graphene quantum dots (GQDs) to facilitate their prospective applications as optical materials. Here, we report the facile and straightforward synthesis of alkylated graphene quantum dots (AGQDs) via the solvothermal reaction of propagatively alkylated graphene sheets (PAGenes). In contrast to most GQDs reported so far, the synthesized AGQDs process pH-independent and ultra-bright PL with a relative quantum yield of up to 65%. Structural and chemical composition characterization demonstrated that the synthesized AGQDs are nearly oxygen-defect-free with alkyl groups decorated on edges and basal plane, which may contribute to their greatly improved pH tolerance and high quantum efficiency. The photocatalytic performance of AGQDs-P25 nanocomposites was evaluated by the degradation of Rhodamine B under visible light. The photocatalytic rate is ca. 5.9 times higher than that of pure P25, indicating that AGQDs could harness the visible spectrum of sunlight for energy conversion or environmental therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surface, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China. sldeng@xmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Xing-Yan
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Yun-Xin
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Yue-Wen
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xue-Huan
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Shun-Liu
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Su-Yuan
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Jia-Wei
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Lan-Sun
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Zheng