Eco-Friendly Fluorescent Carbon Nanodots: Characteristics and Potential Applications

Carbon nanodots are zero-dimensional tiny particles of carbon with outstanding characteristics and potential applications. Carbon nanodots are fluorescent materials and possess unique characteristics such as biocompatibility, photostability, low toxicity, sustainable, and eco-friendly. Fluorescent carbon nanodots are emerging nanomaterials that show promising potential in bioimaging, optical sensing, information encryption and storage, photocatalysis, lasers, drug delivery, energy conversion, and photovoltaic applications. Carbon nanodots can be synthesized at very low cost through various sustainable approaches that employ inexpensive renewable resources as starting materials. Carbon nanodots are fascinating carbon-based materials that have received mass attention from past few years for their substantial applications in diverse fields. Carbon nanodots have a huge impact on both health and environmental applications because of their potential to serve as nontoxic replacements to traditional heavy metal-based quantum dots. Herein we highlight the intriguing characteristics and potential applications of fluorescent carbon nanodots in various fields and their perspective in future.