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Life Cycle Assessment-Based Comparative Study between High-Yield and “Standard” Bottom-Up Procedures for the Fabrication of Carbon Dots

Carbon dots (CDs) are carbon-based nanomaterials with remarkable properties that can be produced from a wide variety of synthesis routes. Given that “standard” bottom-up procedures are typically associated with low synthesis yields, different authors have been trying to devise alternative high-yield...

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Autores principales: Fernandes, Sónia, Esteves da Silva, Joaquim C. G., Pinto da Silva, Luís
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9145381/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35629474
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ma15103446
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author Fernandes, Sónia
Esteves da Silva, Joaquim C. G.
Pinto da Silva, Luís
author_facet Fernandes, Sónia
Esteves da Silva, Joaquim C. G.
Pinto da Silva, Luís
author_sort Fernandes, Sónia
collection PubMed
description Carbon dots (CDs) are carbon-based nanomaterials with remarkable properties that can be produced from a wide variety of synthesis routes. Given that “standard” bottom-up procedures are typically associated with low synthesis yields, different authors have been trying to devise alternative high-yield fabrication strategies. However, there is a doubt if sustainability-wise, the latter should be really preferred to the former. Herein, we employed a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach to compare and understand the environmental impacts of high-yield and “standard” bottom-up strategies, by applying different life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods. These routes were: (1) production of hydrochar, via the hydrothermal treatment of carbon precursors, and its alkaline peroxide treatment into high-yield CDs; (2) microwave treatment of carbon precursors doped with ethylenediamine; (3) and (6) thermal treatment of carbon precursor and urea; (4) hydrothermal treatment of carbon precursor and urea; (5) microwave treatment of carbon precursor and urea. For this LCA, four LCIA methods were used: ReCiPe, Greenhouse Gas Protocol, AWARE, and USEtox. Results identified CD-5 as the most sustainable synthesis in ReCiPe, Greenhouse Gas Protocol, and USEtox. On the other hand, in AWARE, the most sustainable synthesis was CD-1. It was possible to conclude that, in general, high-yield synthesis (CD-1) was not more sustainable than “standard” bottom-up synthesis, such as CD-5 and CD-6 (also with relatively high-yield). More importantly, high-yield synthesis (CD-1) did not generate much lower environmental impacts than “standard” approaches with low yields, which indicates that higher yields come with relevant environmental costs.
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spelling pubmed-91453812022-05-29 Life Cycle Assessment-Based Comparative Study between High-Yield and “Standard” Bottom-Up Procedures for the Fabrication of Carbon Dots Fernandes, Sónia Esteves da Silva, Joaquim C. G. Pinto da Silva, Luís Materials (Basel) Article Carbon dots (CDs) are carbon-based nanomaterials with remarkable properties that can be produced from a wide variety of synthesis routes. Given that “standard” bottom-up procedures are typically associated with low synthesis yields, different authors have been trying to devise alternative high-yield fabrication strategies. However, there is a doubt if sustainability-wise, the latter should be really preferred to the former. Herein, we employed a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach to compare and understand the environmental impacts of high-yield and “standard” bottom-up strategies, by applying different life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods. These routes were: (1) production of hydrochar, via the hydrothermal treatment of carbon precursors, and its alkaline peroxide treatment into high-yield CDs; (2) microwave treatment of carbon precursors doped with ethylenediamine; (3) and (6) thermal treatment of carbon precursor and urea; (4) hydrothermal treatment of carbon precursor and urea; (5) microwave treatment of carbon precursor and urea. For this LCA, four LCIA methods were used: ReCiPe, Greenhouse Gas Protocol, AWARE, and USEtox. Results identified CD-5 as the most sustainable synthesis in ReCiPe, Greenhouse Gas Protocol, and USEtox. On the other hand, in AWARE, the most sustainable synthesis was CD-1. It was possible to conclude that, in general, high-yield synthesis (CD-1) was not more sustainable than “standard” bottom-up synthesis, such as CD-5 and CD-6 (also with relatively high-yield). More importantly, high-yield synthesis (CD-1) did not generate much lower environmental impacts than “standard” approaches with low yields, which indicates that higher yields come with relevant environmental costs. MDPI 2022-05-11 /pmc/articles/PMC9145381/ /pubmed/35629474 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ma15103446 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Fernandes, Sónia
Esteves da Silva, Joaquim C. G.
Pinto da Silva, Luís
Life Cycle Assessment-Based Comparative Study between High-Yield and “Standard” Bottom-Up Procedures for the Fabrication of Carbon Dots
title Life Cycle Assessment-Based Comparative Study between High-Yield and “Standard” Bottom-Up Procedures for the Fabrication of Carbon Dots
title_full Life Cycle Assessment-Based Comparative Study between High-Yield and “Standard” Bottom-Up Procedures for the Fabrication of Carbon Dots
title_fullStr Life Cycle Assessment-Based Comparative Study between High-Yield and “Standard” Bottom-Up Procedures for the Fabrication of Carbon Dots
title_full_unstemmed Life Cycle Assessment-Based Comparative Study between High-Yield and “Standard” Bottom-Up Procedures for the Fabrication of Carbon Dots
title_short Life Cycle Assessment-Based Comparative Study between High-Yield and “Standard” Bottom-Up Procedures for the Fabrication of Carbon Dots
title_sort life cycle assessment-based comparative study between high-yield and “standard” bottom-up procedures for the fabrication of carbon dots
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9145381/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35629474
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ma15103446
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