Zero-Dimensional Carbon Allotropes—Carbon Nanoparticles Versus Fullerenes in Functionalization by Electronic Polymers for Different Optical and Redox Properties

[Image: see text] Fullerene cages are known as being able to participate in radical initiated copolymerization reactions with vinyl monomers for polymer-functionalized fullerenes. In this work, poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) was selected as a representative of electronic polymers in the functionalization of fullerene C(60) by the same copolymerization reaction to yield the PVK–C(60). Similarly found was that small carbon nanoparticles could also participate in the same copolymerization reaction for the nanoparticles to be surface-functionalized and -passivated by the attached PVK polymers, which are structurally adhering to the general definition on carbon dots (CDots), thus PVK–CDots. In the comparison between PVK–CDots and PVK–C(60), the former was found to be more absorptive and therefore more effective in photon harvesting across the visible spectral region and also brightly fluorescent, orders of magnitude more so than the latter. Similar to the PVK–C(60) and C(60) cages in general, the PVK–CDots exhibited significant photoinduced electron accepting characteristics and, at the same time, also extraordinary electron donating abilities that are not available to fullerenes. Because fullerene-based composites with electronic polymers including PVK have found significant applications in optoelectronic devices and systems, the prospect of CDots represented by the PVK–CDots for similar purposes is discussed.