Hydrothermal synthesis of morus alba waste biomass-derived carbon dots with enhanced quantum yield for optoelectronic chitosan nanocomposites

Engineering notes

Engineering notes will be added by the Power for Solar editorial team.

Chinese explanation / 中文解读

中文解读待补充：本站会优先为光伏效率、钙钛矿太阳能电池、储能技术、太阳能热利用、BIPV、并网技术等高价值论文补充中文说明。

Original abstract

Sustainable strategies are increasingly required to enhance the optoelectronic performance of biopolymers while ensuring environmental safety. In this work, carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were synthesized via a green hydrothermal route using Morus alba waste biomass leaves. The CQDs exhibited abundant oxygen- and nitrogen-containing functional groups, enabling strong interfacial interaction with the chitosan (CS) matrix and leading to significant modification of its optical properties. The composite system was designed primarily for optoelectronic and UV-optical applications, particularly for bandgap tuning and light-matter interaction control. The CQDs showed strong blue photoluminescence with a quantum yield of 9.46%, and characteristic π-π* and n-π* transitions at 251 nm and 356 nm. Structural analysis confirmed disruption of the semicrystalline CS matrix and strong CQD-polymer interaction. UV-Vis results revealed a substantial reduction in the optical bandgap from 4.97 eV (pure CS) to 2.35 eV (CS/CQDs-20), along with increased Urbach energy, indicating enhanced disorder and localized states. Further optical analysis showed improved refractive index, dielectric constant, and optical conductivity, accompanied by increased carrier concentration and reduced optical resistivity (from 0.0519 to 0.0033 Ω·m). These results demonstrate that CQD incorporation effectively tailors the optical and electronic behavior of chitosan, making the composites suitable for optoelectronic devices, UV-active coatings, and light-responsive polymer systems.

Links and sources

• PDF from original source

Comments