title: Synthesis and unique photoluminescence properties of nitrogen-rich quantum dots and their applications.
abstract: Nitrogen-rich quantum dots (N-dots) were serendipitously synthesized in methanol or aqueous solution at a reaction temperature as low as 50 °C. These N-dots have a small size (less than 10 nm) and contain a high percentage of the element nitrogen, and are thus a new member of quantum-dot family. These N-dots show unique and distinct photoluminescence properties with an increasing percentage of nitrogen compared to the neighboring carbon dots. The photoluminescence behavior was adjusted from blue to green simply through variation of the reaction temperature. Furthermore, the detailed mechanism of N-dot formation was also proposed with the trapped intermediate. These N-dots have also shown promising applications as fluorescent ink and biocompatible staining in C. elegans.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, No. 38, Xueyuan Rd. Beijing 100191 (China).
authors.forename: Xiuxian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Qingqing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Lizhu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: ChenHo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tung
authors.forename: Xinjing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans; D005453:Fluorescence; D049449:Luminescence; D049408:Luminescent Agents / Q000032:analysis* / Q000138:chemical synthesis; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis*; D061848:Optical Imaging; D045663:Quantum Dots / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D049408:Luminescent Agents; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: bioimaging; fluorescence ink; nanomaterials; photoluminescence; quantum dots