Waste-to-wealth: Functional biomass carbon dots based on bee pollen waste and application

Waste utilization is not only the protection of the environment and the practice of green chemistry, but also one of the ways to develop new materials. Herein, we report two biomass carbon dots which prepared from bee pollen waste by one-step hydrothermal method. The new two carbon dots were used in sensing, cell imaging and plant growth regulation. The differences in the structure and properties of the two carbon dots were evaluated by TEM, XPS, TG and various spectroscopic methods. Both two carbon dots contain abundant functional groups, polyatomic doping, excellent water solubility and stable photoluminescence. Due to these good properties, we have demonstrated its versatile applications in Fe3+ sensing, cell imaging and plant growth regulation. It shows sensitive and specific Fe3+ responsiveness and good biocompatibility. This research provides a green and simple method for the recycling and reuse of bee pollen waste, and also provides a reference for the application of biomass carbon dots.