Aluminum-doped carbon quantum dots and carbon nanosheets from electrochemical peeled-off MAX phase and their antioxidant ability

Excessive reactive oxygen species levels will cause great harm to the human body, so it’s important to develop a highly effective antioxidant to balance their level. In this study, metal-doped carbon nanomaterials-Al-doped carbon quantum dots (Al-CQDs) and carbon nanosheets (Al-CNSs) were first peeled off from the MAX phase by electrochemical approach. The detailed stripped mechanism was analyzed and demonstrated. The as-prepared Al-CQDs and Al-CNSs exhibited improved antioxidant activity by hydroxyl radicals (·OH) scavenging test, due to the Al doping and thus the improved charge transport ability. As a kind of environment-friendly and non-toxic material, metal-doped carbon nanomaterials could have great application prospects in the field of antioxidants.