Nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots from biomass via simple one-pot method and exploration of their application

摘要

Graphical abstractDisplay OmittedHighlights•Nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots have been successfully prepared via one-pot method.•The optimized nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots have outstanding optical properties.•The nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots have been tentatively employed as light absorbers to fabricate solar cells.•The device yields a maximized solar-to-electrical conversion efficiency of 0.17% with a good fill factor of 67%.AbstractPursuit of low-cost and large-scale method to prepare carbon quantum dots (CQDs) is a persistent objective in recent years. In this work, we have successfully synthesized a series of nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs) under different hydrothermal temperature employing Eichhornia crassipes (ECs) as precursors. Considering the pollution ability to water and low-cost, this study may direct the novel path to convert waste material to useful quantum dots. After measurements such as TEM, XRD, Raman, XPS, PL as well as the UV–vis absorbance ability, outstanding optical properties have been discovered. In this fashion, solar cells are tentative to be fabricated, yielding the maximized solar-to-electrical conversion efficiency of 0.17% with a good fill factor of 67%. Meanwhile, the above-mentioned quantum dots also show the up-conversion ability, suggesting the potential application in infrared detection or broadening light-absorbing devices.