Controlled Synthesis of Carbon Quantum Dots

Carbon quantum dots are discrete, quasispherical, relatively nontoxic, water-dispersible nanomaterials with size below 10 nm having rich optical and electrochemical properties. They are relatively inexpensive to make and have been reported to be made from a wide variety of precursors including those obtained from nature. They have been employed for manifold applications in various fields including in contrast agents for imaging, forensic science applications for detecting latent fingerprints, in detectors for heavy metals, photocatalysts, electrocatalysts, biosensing, and cellular imaging. Their synthesis using different techniques, characterization, as well as application in various fields including challenges faced during synthesis and characterization are discussed in this chapter. The superiority of carbon quantum dots over other material is also discussed. All sections include current literature review on doped carbon dots too.