School of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science & Technology, Nanjing, China.
Key Laboratory of Graphene Technologies and Applications of Zhejiang Province, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology & Engineering (NIMTE), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, China.
Luminescence. 2019 Nov;34(7):759-766. doi: 10.1002/bio.3671. Epub 2019 Jul 1.
Metal atom doping, an easy and convenient method, can optimize and tune the physical-chemical properties and photometrics of carbon dots (CDs). However, there are few reports on the preparation of metal-decorated CDs that give red emission and a high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY). Here, we demonstrate a zinc (existing in human body) ion-doping strategy to observably enhance the PLQY and lengthen the CD emission wavelength. The prepared Zn/ZnO-decorated CDs (Zn-CDs) produced red fluorescence (623 nm) with a superior PLQY of 40.3%. Through a series of analyses, Zn-CDs were confirmed to contain an oxidation state and reduction state of Zn doping into the internal defects and surface of Zn-CDs. More valuably, the Zn-CDs had excellent chemical stability, photo-stability, long-term storage stability, and high biocompatibility, and therefore could be used as a robust red fluorescence probe for high-quality cellular imaging.
金属原子掺杂是一种简单便捷的方法，可以优化和调节碳点（CDs）的物理化学性质和光电性质。然而，关于制备具有红色发射和高光致发光量子产率（PLQY）的金属修饰 CDs 的报道很少。在这里，我们展示了一种锌（存在于人体中）离子掺杂策略，可显著提高 PLQY 并延长 CD 发射波长。制备的 Zn/ZnO 修饰 CDs（Zn-CDs）产生红色荧光（623nm），具有 40.3%的超高 PLQY。通过一系列分析，证实 Zn-CDs 中含有 Zn 的氧化态和还原态掺杂到 Zn-CDs 的内部缺陷和表面。更有价值的是，Zn-CDs 具有优异的化学稳定性、光稳定性、长期储存稳定性和高生物相容性，因此可用作用于高质量细胞成像的稳健红色荧光探针。
