Modulating Electrochemical Energy Storage Properties of Cassava Peel‐Derived Carbon Dots Via Solvent Engineering

Abstract Despite their small size, constrained within a few nanometers, Carbon dots, the tiny 0D materials, have the potential to revolutionize the realm of materials, design, and technology. The elemental composition of carbon dots, more specifically, the non‐carbon elements forming functional groups, has crucial roles in determining the structure and properties, opening a wide scope for tailoring through compositional engineering. In this work, tuned carbon dots derived from waste Cassava peel, synthesized by applying solvent engineering strategy in facile single‐step microwave‐assisted solvothermal treatment, are reported. The proportion of charge accumulation mechanisms is found to be highly dependent on the elemental composition of oxygen and nitrogen in the carbon dots, evidencing the pivotal role of functional groups. Among the carbon dots synthesized using three different solvents. Ethylenediamine based ones show highest energy storage capability (114.57 F g −1 at 0.1 A g −1 ) owing to nitrogen‐oxygen co‐functionalization. Though these carbon dots have low storage capabilities as such, they have potential prospects to be incorporated into electrode materials to tune charge storage mechanisms desirably, often with the added advantage of enhanced stability and performance. Additionally, the redox properties exhibited by the tuned samples give promising prospects toward applications like electrochemical sensing and electrolyte engineering for energy storage.