Carbon dots based photocatalysis for environmental applications

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) have attracted intensive interest in the scientific community attributed to their quantum effect, non-toxicity, fluorescence, photoluminescence, and up-conversion properties, and have been extensively applied in sensing, biomedical, optoelectronic and catalysis fields. Especially, CQDs can act as photocatalysts and be used in energy and environmental areas, such as wastewater remediation and solar energy conversion to fuels and green chemicals. This review will briefly introduce the unique physicochemical properties of CQDs, such as light absorption, photoluminescence, and up-conversion luminescence. The advanced fabrication methods and modification strategies of CQDs will also be summarized. Finally, we will show the broad applications of CQDs in photocatalytic pollutant removal and hydrogen/hydrogen-peroxide production, discussing the structure-activity relationship of CQDs and their complexes in the field of catalysis. Lastly, the key issues and perspectives for future energy and environmental applications are presented. This comprehensive review will provide new insight and inspiration in the synthesis, improvement, and photocatalytic application of CQDs.