Rupturing C60 Molecules into Graphene-Oxide-like Quantum Dots: Structure, Photoluminescence, and Catalytic Application

Guanxiong Chen; Zhiwen Zhuo; Kun Ni; Na Yeon Kim; Yuan Zhao; Zongwei Chen; Bin Xiang; Lihua Yang; Qun Zhang; Zonghoon Lee; Xiaojun Wu; Rodney S Ruoff; Yanwu Zhu

doi:10.1002/smll.201501611

Rupturing C60 Molecules into Graphene-Oxide-like Quantum Dots: Structure, Photoluminescence, and Catalytic Application

Small. 2015 Oct 21;11(39):5296-304. doi: 10.1002/smll.201501611. Epub 2015 Aug 19.

Authors

Guanxiong Chen¹, Zhiwen Zhuo¹, Kun Ni¹, Na Yeon Kim², Yuan Zhao¹, Zongwei Chen³, Bin Xiang¹, Lihua Yang¹, Qun Zhang³, Zonghoon Lee⁴, Xiaojun Wu¹, Rodney S Ruoff⁵, Yanwu Zhu¹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Materials for Energy ConversionChinese Academy of Sciences, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P. R. China.
² School of Materials Science and Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, 689-798, South Korea.
³ Department of Chemical Physics, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P. R. China.
⁴ Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, 689-798, South Korea.
⁵ Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials and Department of Chemistry and School of Materials Science, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, 689-798, South Korea.

PMID: 26287442
DOI: 10.1002/smll.201501611

Abstract

The large-scale synthesis of graphene-oxide-like quantum dots (GOLQDs) is reported by oxidizing C(60) molecules using a modified Hummers method with a yield of ≈25 wt% readily achieved. The GOLQDs are highly soluble in water and in addition to hexagons have other carbon rings in the structure. They have an average height of ≈1.2 nm and a diameter distribution of 0.6-2.2 nm after drying on substrates. First-principle calculations indicate that a possible rupturing route may include the insertion of oxygen atoms to CC bonds in the C(60) molecule, followed by rupture of that CC bonds. The GOLQD suspension has a strong photoluminescence (PL) with peak position dependent on excitation wavelength. The PL is related to the size and emissive traps caused by oxygen-containing groups. The GOLQDs also catalyze the oxidation of benzyl alcohol with a high selectivity.

Keywords: C60; catalyst; graphene oxide; graphene quantum dots; photoluminescence.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't