Low Temperature Synthesis of Fluorescent Carbon Dots from Pomegranate Peels

In recent times, much attention has been drawn to the synthesis of carbon dots from agro waste since they are a cheap source, readily available, non-toxic and in most instances disposed of as waste. Yet, the synthesis of fluorescent carbon dots at low temperatures from agro waste remain a challenge. Herein, we report for the first time on a sucessful synthesis of flourescent carbon dots, with average size 4.7 nm, at low temperature of only 100 °C using hydrothermal method from pomegranate peels as a sole precursor. The crystal structure and the morphological features of the synthesized dots were characterized by XRD, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL), nanosecond fluorescence lifetime, FTIR and Zeta potential measurments. The synthesized dots showed bluish emission at 440 nm, when excited at a wavelength of 360 nm, with relatively long decay lifetime of 7.4 ns.