Perception on aggregation induced multicolor emission and emission centers in carbon nanodots using successive dilution, anion exchange chromatography, and multi-way statistics

Exploration in the way of understanding the optical behavior and structure of carbon nanodots has been increased due to their vast application. Their emission dependency on excitation wavelengths is the more prevalent and controversial subject. In this report we considered the optical structure of hydrothermally synthesized carbon nanodots using citric acid and 2,3-diaminopyridine as precursors. The presence of different emission centers experimented through anion exchange chromatography which resulted in fractions with more unique optical structures. The quantum confinement effect and energy exchange between different types of carbon nanodots, due to aggregation in higher concentration levels, was studied applying a stepwise dilution experiment. Analysis of the experimental data was done through the parallel factor analysis and the trajectory pattern recognition which resolved more about optical interactions and the presence of different emission centers in different particles. Results from infrared spectroscopy confirmed the dominating density of carboxyl functional groups on the nanodots with negative surface charges and higher influence of amine groups on dots with positive surface charges.