Sustainability Assessment of Highly Fluorescent Carbon Dots Derived from Eucalyptus Leaves

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2024

Authors

Johny, A (Author) Other; da Silva, LP (Author) FCUP; Carlos M Pereira (Author) FCUP; Joaquim C G E Esteves da Silva (Author) FCUP

Journal

The Journal is awaiting validation by the Administrative Services.

Title: ENVIRONMENTS

Vol. 8

Final page: 6

ISSN: 2076-3298

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 0 Citations

Scopus - 0 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00Y-KGJ

DOI: 10.3390/environments11010006

Abstract (EN): Biomass-derived carbon dots (CDs) are gaining much interest in recent times, as they provide a sustainable option with abundant availability, a low cost and tunable luminescence. Herein, we report a simple green synthesis method to produce highly fluorescent CDs from Eucalyptus globulus leaves using the one-pot hydrothermal approach. The fabricated CDs exhibit strong blue fluorescence with an excitation and emission maxima of 320 nm and 445 nm, respectively. The highest quantum yield (QY) obtained was 60.7%. With the reported optical properties and biocompatibility, CDs can be looked at as a promising candidate for potential biosensing applications. Moreover, we employed a life cycle assessment (LCA) cradle-to-gate approach to study the environmental impacts of the synthesis strategy used for the fabrication of CDs. The results point out that citric acid is the main hotspot in CD synthesis, regarding environmental impacts in most categories. This justifies the introduction of biomass, which reduces the amount of citric acid, thus leading to a more sustainable synthesis strategy for fabricating CDs.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 14