New Breakthroughs on The Studies of Carbon Quantum Dots by Wu Mingbo's Group got Published by Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.
Recently, new breakthroughs on the studies of carbon quantum dots(CQDs) were made by Wu Mingbo's Group of College of Chemical Engineering. The paper Cu–N Dopants Boost Electron Transfer and Photooxidation Reactions of Carbon Dots has got published by Angewandte Chemie International Edition.
In the article, the group report the preparation of Cu–N-doped CDs (Cu-CDs) and investigate both the doping-promoted electron transfer and the performance of the CDs in photooxidation reactions. The Cu–N doping was achieved through a one-step pyrolytic synthesis of CDs with Na2[Cu(EDTA)] as precursor. As confirmed by ESR, FTIR, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies, the Cu species chelates with the carbon matrix through Cu–N complexes. As a result of the Cu–N doping, the electron-accepting and -donating abilities were enhanced 2.5 and 1.5 times, and the electric conductivity was also increased to 171.8 μs cm−1. As a result of these enhanced properties, the photocatalytic efficiency of CDs in the photooxidation reaction of 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethylpyridine-3,5-dicarboxylate is improved 3.5-fold after CD doping, which ultimately benefits the entire electron-transfer process and further improves the photocatalytic ability.
