title: Phenyl-Modified Carbon Nitride Quantum Dots with Distinct Photoluminescence Behavior.
abstract: A novel type of quantum dot (Ph-CN) is manufactured from graphitic carbon nitride by "lining" the carbon nitride structure with phenyl groups through supramolecular preorganization. This approach requires no chemical etching or hydrothermal treatments like other competing nanoparticle syntheses and is easy and safe to use. The Ph-CN nanoparticles exhibit bright, tunable fluorescence, with a high quantum yield of 48.4 % in aqueous colloidal suspensions. Interestingly, the observed Stokes shift of approximately 200 nm is higher than the maximum values reported for carbon nitride based fluorophores. The high quantum yield and the large Stokes shift are related to the structural surface organization of the phenyl groups, which affects the π-electron delocalization in the conjugated carbon nitride networks and induces colloidal stability. The remarkable performance of the Ph-CN nanoparticles in imaging is demonstrated by a simple incubation study with HeLa cells.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China.
authors.forename: Qianling
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Department of Colloid Chemistry, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, 14424, Potsdam, Germany. Jingsan.Xu@mpikg.mpg.de.
authors.forename: Jingsan
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2898-7188
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China. lidong@mater.ustb.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Lidong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Colloid Chemistry, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, 14424, Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Antonietti
authors.affiliation: Department of Colloid Chemistry, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, 14424, Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Menny
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shalom
keywords: Stokes shifts; carbon nitrides; cell imaging; colloidal suspensions; fluorescence