Sustainable Silk-Derived Multimode Carbon Dots

Carbon dots (CDs) are widely studied for years due to their unique luminescent properties and potential applications in many fields. However, aggregation-caused quenching, monotonous emission modes, and unsustainable preparation impose restrictions on their performance and practical applications. Here, this work reports the facile synthesis of sustainable silk-derived multimode emitting CDs with dispersed-state fluorescence (DSF), aggregation-induced fluorescence (AIF), and aggregation-induced room temperature phosphorescence (AIRTP) through radiating sericin proteins in a household microwave oven (800 W, 2.5 min). The structure, luminescent properties, and the mechanism are investigated and discussed. The sericin-derived CDs have graphitized cores and heteroatom-cluster-rich surfaces. The DSF corresponds to the graphitized cores and the AIF origins from the aggregation-induced abundant orbital energy levels on the heteroatom-cluster-rich surfaces. The presence of abundant hydrogen bonds and small gap between the lowest singlet and triplet excited states induces AIRTP. Finally, based on the unique multimode emission of the prepared CDs, their applications in high-performance white-light-emitting diode, information encryption, anti-counterfeiting, and visual humidity sensors are demonstrated.

Automated summary

This study presents a method for synthesizing sustainable carbon dots through radiating sericin proteins in a household microwave oven, which exhibit dispersed-state fluorescence, aggregation-induced fluorescence, and aggregation-induced room temperature phosphorescence. The structure and luminescent properties of the carbon dots are thoroughly investigated, and their potential applications in high-performance white-light-emitting diodes, information encryption, anti-counterfeiting, and visual humidity sensors are demonstrated.