Light-emitting carbon nanodots. Synthesis and development of novel applications

• Autores: María del Carmen Ortega Liébana
• Directores de la Tesis: Jesús Santamaría Ramiro (dir. tes.), Jose Luis Hueso Martos (dir. tes.)
• Lectura: En la Universidad de Zaragoza ( España ) en 2018
• Idioma: español
• Tribunal Calificador de la Tesis: Rafael Bilbao Duñabeitia (presid.), Juan José Rodríguez Jiménez (secret.), Sixto Malato Rodríguez (voc.), Luisa De Cola (voc.), Ángel Orte Gutiérrez (voc.)
• Programa de doctorado: Programa de Doctorado en Ingeniería Química y del Medio Ambiente por la Universidad de Zaragoza
• Materias:
  • Ciencias tecnológicas
    • Ingeniería y tecnología químicas
      • Tecnología de catálisis
      • Síntesis química
    • Ingeniería y tecnología del medio ambiente
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• Resumen

  • Fluorescent Carbon Nanodots, “CNDs”, are a new type of carbon nanomaterials that have emerged recently, and have attracted intense interest as a potential alternative to classical semiconductor Quantum Dots. CNDs possess high biocompatibility, easy and low-cost synthesis, good colloidal stability and appealing optical properties. CNDs also hold a huge potential as novel and versatile luminescent nanomaterials for a wide range of applications such as bioimaging, drug delivery, chemical sensing, photocatalysis, and as sensitizers for photovoltaic solar cells.

    This Thesis deals first with the development of different strategies to produce non-toxic, inexpensive carbon nanoparticles with good and tunable emission properties spanning an activation window from the ultraviolet (UV) to the near infrared (NIR). On the other hand, the prepared CNDs have been applied in different fields: theranostics, sensing and catalysis. The aims of this PhD Thesis have been: (i) to synthesize fluorescent CNDs from abundant and inexpensive precursors by improving state-of-the-art methods and by the development of novel synthesis strategies; (ii) to understand and optimize the structural and optical properties of the as-synthesized CNDs; and (iii) to use the CNDs as fluorescent Biomarkers and Photodynamic Therapy agents, as luminescent Nanosensors and as photosensitisers in Catalytic applications.

    After an introductory section, the thesis is structured in three blocks:

    I. Synthesis of CNDs, evaluation of different synthesis methods: hydrothermal treatment, pyrolysis of organic compounds and flash-thermal pyrolysis of carbon precursors contained in the channels of inorganic mesoporous templates.

    II. Characterization of CNDs: evaluation of their structural and optical properties with special attention to the role of functional groups generated in the CNDs and the chemical composition of the different precursors to induce an enhanced response in the visible-NIR range.

    III. Applications of CNDs: evaluation of their role as biomarkers, theranostic agents, and ion sensors, especially in the NIR range. Evaluation as sensitizers/light harvesters able to expand the response of other photocatalysts or to mimic the enzymatic activity of peroxidase.

    Finally, a conclusion section contains the main conclusions reached in this work.