One-Pot Synthesis of Trichromatic Fluorescent Carbon Dots for Printing and Imaging

As a type of carbon-based nanomaterial, the most prominent feature of carbon dots (CDs) is their fluorescence properties. In this work, blue, green, and red water-dispersible CDs with trichromatic properties were prepared by a microwave method using corn starch, citric acid, p-phenylenediamine, and urea. The emission wavelengths of the CDs at the same excitation wavelength were 423, 524, and 621 nm, respectively. The morphological characteristics and optical properties of the three CDs were characterized, and the mechanism that drives the specific color of CDs was analyzed. The experimental results showed that white fluorescence with CIE color coordinates of (0.33, 0.34) and a series of tunable fluorescent colors could be obtained by adjusting the mixing ratio of blue, green, and red CDs, and multicolor polyvinyl alcohol fluorescent films were synthesized using CDs as pigments. At the same time, the printing effect was realized by an inkjet printer.