Tunable quantum dots in bilayer graphene

We demonstrate theoretically that quantum dots in bilayers of graphene can be realized. A position-dependent doping breaks the equivalence between the upper and lower layer and lifts the degeneracy of the positive and negative momentum states of the dot. Numerical results show the simultaneous presence of electron and hole confined states for certain doping profiles and a remarkable angular momentum dependence of the quantum dot spectrum, which is in sharp contrast with that for conventional semiconductor quantum dots. We predict that the optical spectrum will consist of a series of nonequidistant peaks.     

Functional microspheres of graphene quantum dots

Graphene-quantum-dot microspheres (GQDSs) have been prepared by assembly of graphene quantum dots (GQDs) via a water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion technique without the addition of any surfactants. Although made of quantum-sized graphene dots, the as-formed GQDSs are solid and remain intact after slight ultrasonication. The versatile W/O emulsion method allows the in?situ intercalation of functional nanocomponents into the GQDSs for specific applications. As exemplified by the Fe(3)O(4)-containing GQDSs, Fe(3)O(4)-GQDSs exhibit a large magnetic response. Furthermore, the embedded Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles in GQDSs can act as the catalysts for the growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), which opens the opportunities for fabricating new complex structures of CNTs surrounding GQDSs by simple chemical vapor deposition.     

Nanobiosensing with graphene and carbon quantum dots: Recent advances

Graphene and carbon quantum dots (GQDs and CQDs) are relatively new nanomaterials that have demonstrated impact in multiple different fields thanks to their unique quantum properties and excellent biocompatibility. Biosensing, analyte detection and monitoring wherein a key feature is coupled molecular recognition and signal transduction, is one such field that is being greatly advanced by the use of GQDs and CQDs. In this review, recent progress on the development of biotransducers and biosensors enabled by the creative use of GQDs and CQDs is reviewed, with special emphasis on how these materials specifically interface with biomolecules to improve overall analyte detection. This review also introduces nano-enabled biotransducers and different biosensing configurations and strategies, as well as highlights key properties of GQDs and CQDs that are pertinent to functional biotransducer design. Following relevant introductory material, the literature is surveyed with emphasis on work performed over the last 5 years. General comments and suggestions to advance the direction and potential of the field are included throughout the review. The strategic purpose is to inspire and guide future investigations into biosensor design for quality and safety, as well as serve as a primer for developing GQD- and CQD-based biosensors.     

Patterning nanoroads and quantum dots on fluorinated graphene

Using ab initio methods we have investigated the fluorination of graphene and find that different stoichiometric phases can be formed without a nucleation barrier, with the complete “2D-Teflon” CF phase being thermodynamically most stable. The fluorinated graphene is an insulator and turns out to be a perfect matrix-host for patterning nanoroads and quantum dots of pristine graphene. The electronic and magnetic properties of the nanoroads can be tuned by varying the edge orientation and width. The energy gaps between the highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (HOMO-LUMO) of quantum dots are size-dependent and show a confinement typical of Dirac fermions. Furthermore, we study the effect of different basic coverage of F on graphene (with stoichiometries CF and C₄F) on the band gaps, and show the suitability of these materials to host quantum dots of graphene with unique electronic properties.     

Slow hot-carrier relaxation in colloidal graphene quantum dots

Reducing hot-carrier relaxation rates is of great significance in overcoming energy loss that fundamentally limits the efficiency of solar energy utilization. Semiconductor quantum dots are expected to have much slower carrier cooling because the spacing between their discrete electronic levels is much larger than phonon energy. However, the slower carrier cooling is difficult to observe due to the existence of many competing relaxation pathways. Here we show that carrier cooling in colloidal graphene quantum dots can be 2 orders of magnitude slower than in bulk materials, which could enable harvesting of hot charge carriers to improve the efficiency of solar energy conversion.     

碳量子点的合成、性质及其应用

碳量子点(CQDs,C-dots or CDs)是一种新型的碳纳米材料,尺寸在10nm以下,具有良好的水溶性、化学惰性、低毒性、易于功能化和抗光漂白性、光稳定性等优异性能,是碳纳米家族中的一颗闪亮的明星。自从2006年[1]报道了碳量子点(CQDs)明亮多彩的发光现象后,世界各地的研究小组开始对CQDs进行了深入的研究。最近几年的研究报道了各种方法制备的CQDs在生物医学、光催化、光电子、传感等领域中都有重要的应用价值。这篇综述主要总结了关于CQDs的最近的发展,介绍了CQDs的合成方法、表面修饰、掺杂、发光机理、光电性质以及在生物医学、光催化、光电子、传感等领域的应用。     

石墨烯/量子点复合材料的研究进展

石墨烯/量子点复合材料因其具有优异的性能,近年来已成为国内外研究的热点。着重介绍了石墨烯/量子点复合材料的制备方法和应用进展。     

Preparation of graphene quantum dots for bioimaging application

In this communication, preparation of graphene quantum dots (GQDs) with size about 10 nm by vigorous oxidation of graphite is reported. Thus obtained GQDs exhibit good physiological solubility, high photostability, low cytotoxicity, and yellow-green fluorescence with quantum yield about 7%. Furthermore, the feasibility of the GQDs for cell imaging application is demosntrated.     

Electronic excited states in bilayer graphene double quantum dots

We report tunneling spectroscopy experiments on a bilayer graphene double quantum dot device that can be tuned by all-graphene lateral gates. The diameter of the two quantum dots are around 50 nm and the constrictions acting as tunneling barriers are 30 nm in width. The double quantum dot features additional energies on the order of 20 meV. Charge stability diagrams allow us to study the tunable interdot coupling energy as well as the spectrum of the electronic excited states on a number of individual triple points over a large energy range. The obtained constant level spacing of 1.75 meV over a wide energy range is in good agreement with the expected single-particle energy spacing in bilayer graphene quantum dots. Finally, we investigate the evolution of the electronic excited states in a parallel magnetic field.     

Alignment of colloidal graphene quantum dots on polar surfaces

Controlling the orientation of nanostructures with anisotropic shapes is essential for taking advantage of their anisotropic electrical, optical, and transport properties in electro-optical devices. For large-area alignment of nanocrystals, so far orientations are mostly induced and controlled by external physical parameters, such as applied fields or changes in concentration. Herein we report on assemblies of colloidal graphene quantum dots, a new type of disk-shaped nanostructures, on polar surfaces and the control of their orientations. We show that the orientations of the graphene quantum dots can be determined, either in- or out-of-plane with the substrate, by chemical functionalization that introduces orientation-dependent interactions between the quantum dots and the surfaces.     

Size selective excitonic transition energies in strongly confined CdSe quantum dots

We report on the synthesis of CdSe nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs) of different radii (R). Size dependent optical properties like increase in the confinement energy with decreasing radius for different excitonic transitions are studied. Different excitonic transitions are calculated from the second derivative of UV-vis absorption spectra of as synthesized CdSe QDs. The transitions are assigned to specific states by calculating the transition energies using effective mass approximation. A close matching of the transition energies with the experiment suggesting that the second derivative of the absorption spectra could provide a direct knowledge of the electronic transition for the direct band gap semiconductor quantum dots.     

Polymorphic structures of iodine and their phase transition in confined nanospace

Atomic chains and crystal of iodine were successfully generated in a controlled manner inside single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). The structure is strongly dependent on the diameter of SWNTs; the single, double, and triple helical structures became quite stable when the diameter of SWNTs matches the certain size. More than three chains of iodine are not very stable, and they often crystallize inside the carbon nanotube when the diameter is larger than 1.45 nm. The crystallization or phase transition in a confined nanospace is thus directly observed, and there is indeed a critical size of the hollow nanospace for the stable formation of the atomic chains of iodine.     

Energy conversion and optical applications of MXene quantum dots

Nanotechnologies known as a developing applied science have significant global socioeconomic values and many advantages obtained from nanoscale materials. Its applications can have significant effects on the performance of organizations. The advance of two-dimensional (2D) MXene-derived QDs (MQDs) is currently in the initial stages. Scholars have shown distinguished optical, electronic, thermal and mechanical attributes by surface chemistry and versatile transition metal. In this field of study, many applications are introduced like energy electromagnetic interference shielding, storage, sensors, transparent electrodes, photothermal therapy, catalysis and so on. The vast range of optical absorption attributes of MQDs along with high electronic conductivity has been detected to be key attributes because of their achievement in the mentioned usages. Currently, relatively little materials are highly known because of their basic electronic and optical properties, which can limit their full potentials. From a theoretical and experimental point of view, in this work, electronic and optical properties of MQDs along with applications corresponding to those properties were evaluated.

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Synthesis of graphene quantum dots for their supramolecular polymorphic architectures

How to regulate the supramolecular structures in the assembly of graphene quantum dots(GQDs)is still a great challenge to be overcome.Herein,the GQDs of 1-3 layers with high quality are synthesized from the new precursor m-trihydroxybenzene in a green method.More importantly,a strategy for designing the supramolecular structures of GQDs is demonstrated,and the novel supramolecular morphologies of GQDs have been constructed for the first time.Moreover,the supramolecular morphologies of GQDs can be well controlled by regulating the preparation conditions,and the formation mechanism of the branch-like supramolecular structure has been explained by the the diffusion-limited aggregation(DLA)model.This work not only develops a new precoursor to synthesize GQDs,but also opens up an effective route toform the polymorphic supermolecules,thus greatly facilitating their potential applications.     

Tailoring of morphology and emission wavelength of AlGaInAs quantum dots

We present a study of the growth, morphology and optical properties of Al(x)Ga(1-x-y)In(y)As quantum dots (QDs) for a wide range of Al and In concentrations (0≤x≤0.34 and 0.43≤y≤0.60). Short emission wavelengths between 660 and 940?nm and QD surface densities up to 1.1 × 10(11)?cm(-2) have been achieved. Our results show that by varying both the Al concentration and the In concentration an independent adjustment of strain and QD band gap is possible. This additional degree of freedom can be employed for tailoring AlGaInAs QDs with the desired emission wavelength, surface density and average size. AlGaInAs QDs thus offer new possibilities for future QD device design.     

Photoluminescence intermittency of InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots confined in a planar microcavity

Photoluminescence intermittency, or "blinking", was observed in semiconductor InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) inside a planar microcavity. Most of the blinking QDs were found around defect sites such as dislocation lines naturally formed in the GaAs barrier layers, and the carrier traps responsible for blinking had an excitation threshold of approximately 1.53 eV. The blinking properties of epitaxial QDs and colloidal nanocrystal QDs were also compared by performing laser intensity dependent measurements and statistics of the "on" and "off" time distributions.     

Near-field optical properties of quantum dots, applications and perspectives

Recent years have witnessed tremendous research in quantum dots as excellent models of quantum physics at the nanoscale and as excellent candidates for various applications based on their optoelectronic properties. This review intends to present theoretical and experimental investigations of the near-field optical properties of these structures, and their multimodal applications such as biosensors, biological labels, optical fibers, switches and sensors, visual displays, photovoltaic devices and related patents.     

Sn量子点/石墨烯复合材料的合成及储锂性能

Sn基材料是目前高容量锂离子电池电极材料研究的热点,但循环性能较差阻碍了其大规模应用.以氧化石墨烯为载体,通过化学还原法在载体表面成功均匀负载＜10 nm的Sn量子点,合成Sn量子点/石墨烯(SnQds/rGO)复合电极材料.结果 表明,Sn质量分数为90wt％的SnQds/rGO复合材料具有良好的综合电化学性能,首次...