Chemically modified starch with silicon quantum dots: Structures and properties

Attachment of Silicon quantum dots (Si QDs) onto starch via sol-gel controlled covalent bonding to form hybrid starch particles was developed to modulate the optical, physical, and mechanical features of starch. Fabricated Si QDs chemically interacted with –OH side groups due to the sol-gel reactions on the starch molecules providing a detectable new molecular bonding to result in fluorescent emission. The produced structures formed nonlinear morphological orientations that provide a nanocomposite material platform for a facile molecular marking in daily applications.