Efficient Conversion of Elemental Sulfur to Robust Ultrabright Fluorescent Sulfur Quantum Dots Using Sulfur-Ethylenediamine Precursor

作者：Gao, Pengxiang; Huang, Zhengyu; Tan, Jisuan; Lv, Guangsheng; Zhou, Li^*

来源：ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2022, 10(14): 4634-4641.

DOI：10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c00036

• Fluorescent nanomaterials
• Sulfur quantum dots
• Photoluminescence quantum yield
• Two-photon fluorescence imaging
• Light-emitting polymer composite
• Fluorescent ink

The direct utilization of abundant and cheap elemental sulfur (S) to synthesize sulfur quantum dots (SQDs)with satisfactory yield and photoluminescence quantum yield(PLQY) remains a big challenge. Here, we report a simple and effective method for mass-producible synthesis of ultrabright fluorescent SQDs based on one-pot solvothermal treatment of S-ethylenediamine (S-EDA) solution. The PLQY of synthesized SQDs and the corresponding S-to-SQDs conversion efficiency(CE) can reach as high as 87.8% and 15.9%, respectively, both ofwhich are the highest values to date. In addition, the SQDssimultaneously show good water solubility, superior storagestability, stablefluorescence against ionic strength variation and pH change, and low toxicity, which enable them promising fornumerous applications such as fabrication offluorescent polymer composite and ink. Furthermore, SQDs also present strong two-photon emission, and their use for two-photonfluorescence imaging is reported here for the first time. This work thus highlightsenormous opportunities not only for bringing SQDs from laboratory research to real applications but also for the value-added utilization of S resource

• 单位
  桂林理工大学