title: Synthesis of strongly fluorescent graphene quantum dots by cage-opening buckminsterfullerene.
abstract: Graphene quantum dots is a class of graphene nanomaterials with exceptional luminescence properties. Precise dimension control of graphene quantum dots produced by chemical synthesis methods is currently difficult to achieve and usually provides a range of sizes from 3 to 25 nm. In this work, fullerene C60 is used as starting material, due to its well-defined dimension, to produce very small graphene quantum dots (∼2-3 nm). Treatment of fullerene C60 with a mixture of strong acid and chemical oxidant induced the oxidation, cage-opening, and fragmentation processes of fullerene C60. The synthesized quantum dots were characterized and supported by LDI-TOF MS, TEM, XRD, XPS, AFM, STM, FTIR, DLS, Raman spectroscopy, and luminescence analyses. The quantum dots remained fully dispersed in aqueous suspension and exhibited strong luminescence properties, with the highest intensity at 460 nm under a 340 nm excitation wavelength. Further chemical treatments with hydrazine hydrate and hydroxylamine resulted in red- and blue-shift of the luminescence, respectively.
authors.forename: Chun Kiang
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Chua
authors.affiliation: ‡Department of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Zdeněk
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sofer
authors.affiliation: ‡Department of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Petr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Šimek
authors.affiliation: ‡Department of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Ondřej
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Jankovský
authors.affiliation: ‡Department of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Kateřina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Klímová
authors.affiliation: §Centre of Instrumental Techniques, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of the AS CR, v.v.i., Husinec-Rez c.p. 1001, 250 68 Rez, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Snejana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bakardjieva
authors.affiliation: ∥Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Štěpánka
authors.initials: Š
authors.lastname: Hrdličková Kučková
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pumera
keywords: fullerenes; graphene; luminescence; oxidation; quantum dots