Nanomaterials and Polymer Nanocomposites Laboratory, School of Engineering, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7, Canada.
Department of Materials and Polymer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, Iran.
Small. 2022 Jan;18(2):e2102683. doi: 10.1002/smll.202102683. Epub 2021 Sep 22.
Graphene quantum dot (GQD) is one of the youngest superstars of the carbon family. Since its emergence in 2008, GQD has attracted a great deal of attention due to its unique optoelectrical properties. Non-zero bandgap, the ability to accommodate functional groups and dopants, excellent dispersibility, highly tunable properties, and biocompatibility are among the most important characteristics of GQDs. To date, GQDs have displayed significant momentum in numerous fields such as energy devices, catalysis, sensing, photodynamic and photothermal therapy, drug delivery, and bioimaging. As this field is rapidly evolving, there is a strong need to identify the emerging challenges of GQDs in recent advances, mainly because some novel applications and numerous innovations on the ease of synthesis of GQDs are not systematically reviewed in earlier studies. This feature article provides a comparative and balanced discussion of recent advances in synthesis, properties, and applications of GQDs. Besides, current challenges and future prospects of these emerging carbon-based nanomaterials are also highlighted. The outlook provided in this review points out that the future of GQD research is boundless, particularly if upcoming studies focus on the ease of purification and eco-friendly synthesis along with improving the photoluminescence quantum yield and production yield of GQDs.
石墨烯量子点（GQD）是碳家族中最年轻的超级巨星之一。自 2008 年问世以来，由于其独特的光电特性，GQD 引起了广泛关注。零带隙、容纳官能团和掺杂剂的能力、出色的分散性、高度可调的性质和生物相容性是 GQDs 最重要的特性之一。迄今为止，GQDs 在能源器件、催化、传感、光动力和光热治疗、药物输送和生物成像等众多领域显示出了显著的发展势头。由于该领域发展迅速，因此非常有必要确定 GQDs 在近期进展中出现的新兴挑战，主要是因为早期研究中没有系统地综述一些新颖的应用和大量关于 GQDs 合成简便性的创新。本文提供了对 GQDs 的合成、性质和应用的最新进展的比较和平衡讨论。此外，还强调了这些新兴碳基纳米材料的当前挑战和未来前景。本文的展望指出，GQD 研究的未来是无限的，特别是如果未来的研究侧重于 GQDs 的纯化简便性和环保合成，以及提高其光致发光量子产率和产量。
