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Solvent-Dependent Photoluminescence Emission and Colloidal Stability of Carbon Quantum dots from Watermelon Peels

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Abstract

Waste peels are considered an environmental burden and typically disposed in landfills. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of various solvents on the luminescence properties of carbon quantum dots (CQDs). Watermelon peels were recycled and reuse as precursors for the synthesis of biomass CQDs via a green carbonization method. The colloidal stability, surface charge, and particle size were characterized using zeta potential and dynamic light scattering (DLS). DLS revealed that the size of the CQDs was approximately 5.80 ± 0.4 nm to 9.74 ± 0.8 nm. The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) results demonstrated a correlation with the DLS results. The optical properties were characterized by photoluminescence (PL) and UV-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. PL measurements at different excitation wavelengths revealed that the CQDs emissions were influenced by the polarity of the solvents. Meanwhile, the Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) results showed the presence of oxygen-containing groups on the surface of the CQDs. These results deepen our understanding of the solvent-dependent behavior and colloidal stability of the CQDs.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support received from the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) under grant number of (FRGS/1/2023/STG05/UPM/02/3) from the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia, research grant (GPIPS/2021/9705500) and (UPM-JORDAN/2022/9300486) from Universiti Putra Malaysia.

Funding

This work is supported by Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) under grant number of (FRGS/1/2023/STG05/UPM/02/3) from the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia, research grant (GPIPS/2021/9705500) and (UPM-JORDAN/2022/9300486) from Universiti Putra Malaysia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Seri Kembangan, 43400, Malaysia

    Muhammad Safwan Zaini, Josephine Ying Chyi Liew, Suriati Paiman, Tan Sin Tee & Mazliana Ahmad Kamarudin

  2. Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Seri Kembangan, 43400, Malaysia

    Josephine Ying Chyi Liew & Suriati Paiman

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  1. Muhammad Safwan Zaini
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  5. Mazliana Ahmad Kamarudin
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Contributions

M. S. Zaini: Conceptualization, visualization methodology, investigation, writing–original draft. J. Y. C. Liew: Validation, Data Curation. S. Paiman: Formal analysis and supervision. T. S. Tee: Data Curation, Formal analysis. M. A. Kamarudin: supervision, validation, writing–review and editing, project administration.

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Correspondence to Mazliana Ahmad Kamarudin.

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Zaini, M.S., Liew, J.Y.C., Paiman, S. et al. Solvent-Dependent Photoluminescence Emission and Colloidal Stability of Carbon Quantum dots from Watermelon Peels. J Fluoresc (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10895-023-03528-1

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