Future Perspectives and Review on Organic Carbon Dots in Electronic Applications

Abstract

Over the span of the past decade, carbon dots (CDs) synthesized from renewable organic resources (organic CDs) have gathered a considerable amount of attention for their photoluminescent properties. This review will focus on organic CDs synthesized using clean chemistry and conventional synthetic chemistry from organic sources and their fluorescence mechanisms, such as quantum confinement effect and surface/edge defects, before outlining their performance in electronic applications, including organic photovoltaic devices, organic light-emitting devices, biosensors, supercapacitors, and batteries. The various organic resources and methods of organic CDs synthesis are briefly covered. Many challenges remain before the adoption of CDs can become widespread; their characterization, structure, functionality, and exact photoluminescent mechanism all require additional research. This review aims to summarize the current research outcomes and highlight the area where further research is needed to fully use these materials.