A general solid-state synthesis of chemically-doped fluorescent graphene quantum dots for bioimaging and optoelectronic applications.

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) have attracted increasing interest because of their excellent properties such as strong photoluminescence, excellent biocompatibility and low cost. Herein, we develop a general method for the synthesis of doped and undoped GQDs, which relies on direct carbonization of organic precursors in the solid state.