Effect of Solvent on Fluorescence Emission from Polyethylene Glycol-Coated Graphene Quantum Dots under Blue Light Illumination

Yang, Po-Chih; Ting, Yu-Xuan; Gu, Siyong; Ashraf Gandomi, Yasser; Li, Jianlin; Hsieh, Chien-Te

doi:10.3390/nano11061383

Title: Effect of Solvent on Fluorescence Emission from Polyethylene Glycol-Coated Graphene Quantum Dots under Blue Light Illumination

Journal Article · Mon May 24 00:00:00 EDT 2021 · Nanomaterials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11061383· OSTI ID:1809957

^[1]; Ting, Yu-Xuan ^[1];

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Yuan Ze Univ., Taoyuan (Taiwan). Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Xiamen Univ. of Technology (China). School of Materials Science and Engineering, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional Materials and Applications
Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Electrification and Energy Infrastructure Directorate

To explore aggregate-induced emission (AIE) properties, this study adopts a one-pot hydrothermal route for synthesizing polyethylene glycol (PEG)-coated graphene quantum dot (GQD) clusters, enabling the emission of highly intense photoluminescence under blue light illumination. The hydrothermal synthesis was performed at 300 °C using o-phenylenediamine as the nitrogen and carbon sources in the presence of PEG. Three different solvents, propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PGMEA), ethanol, and water, were used for dispersing the PEG-coated GQDs, where extremely high fluorescent emission was achieved at 530–550 nm. It was shown that the quantum yield (QY) of PEG-coated GQD suspensions is strongly dependent on the solvent type. The pristine GQD suspension tends to be quenched (i.e., QY: ~1%) when dispersed in PGMEA (aggregation-caused quenching). However, coating GQD nanoparticles with polyethylene glycol results in substantial enhancement of the quantum yield. When investigating the photoluminescence emission from PEG-coated GQD clusters, the surface tension of the solvents was within the range of from 26.9 to 46.0 mN/m. This critical index can be tuned for assessing the transition point needed to activate the AIE mechanism which ultimately boosts the fluorescence intensity. The one-pot hydrothermal route established in this study can be adopted to engineer PEG-coated GQD clusters with solid-state PL emission capabilities, which are needed for next-generation optical, bio-sensing, and energy storage/conversion devices.

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Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725; MOST-108-2221-E-155-036-MY3; MOST-109-2221-E-155-053

OSTI ID:: 1809957

Journal Information:: Nanomaterials, Vol. 11, Issue 6; ISSN 2079-4991

Publisher:: MDPICopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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42 ENGINEERING
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
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Title: Effect of Solvent on Fluorescence Emission from Polyethylene Glycol-Coated Graphene Quantum Dots under Blue Light Illumination

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