{
  "abstract": "The development of efficient, stable, and environmentally friendly fluorescent materials for latent fingerprint visualization remains a major challenge in forensic science. Carbon dots (CDs) have emerged as promising fluorescent nanomaterials owing to their low toxicity, tunable optical properties, and eco-friendly nature. However, their practical application in solid-state systems is often hindered by aggregation-induced quenching (AIQ), which can significantly suppress fluorescence emission. In this study, highly luminescent boric acid-assisted carbon dots (B-CDs) were synthesized through a simple, rapid, and solvent-free thermal process using citric acid, urea, and boric acid as precursors. Unlike conventional approaches, the developed method enables the direct formation of solid-state emissive carbon dot powders without requiring additional surface passivation, purification, or polymeric matrices. Structural and spectroscopic characterizations supported the successful formation of heteroatom-functionalized B-CDs that exhibit excitation-dependent photoluminescence and strong solid-state emission. The synthesized B-CDs exhibited a high solid-state photoluminescence quantum yield of 77.5%. The B-CDs showed strong short-term stability, retaining more than 95% of their initial PL intensity after 60 min exposure to 95% relative humidity and during short-term thermal treatment up to 90 °C. Long-term measurements showed approximately 57% PL retention after 5 days at 95% relative humidity and approximately 48% after 5 days of thermal aging at 50 °C, while approximately 92% of the initial PL intensity was retained after 5 days of continuous UV irradiation. The proposed solvent-free synthesis strategy offers a simple and potentially scalable route for producing strongly emissive solid-state carbon dots, highlighting their potential for latent fingerprint visualization.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Nanome Nanotechnology Co. , ,",
    "Abdullah Gul University , , ,",
    "Erciyes University , , ,",
    "UNAM─Institute of Materials Science and Nanotechnology Bilkent University , Bilkent, ,"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 3,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Sema Karabel Ocal"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Kevser Sahin Tiras",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3705-8380"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Evren Mutlugun",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3715-5594"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6fzxd6r5csmav.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1021/acsomega.6c08569",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13737954/",
  "id": "6fzxd6r5csmav",
  "issns": [
    "2470-1343"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://pubs.acs.org/acsodf/article/doi/10.1021/acsomega.6c08569/5454850/Solvent-Free-Synthesis-of-Highly-Luminescent-Solid",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Article"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2505|Carbon and Quantum Dots Applications"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223004220",
  "pdf_url": "https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acsomega.6c08569",
  "pmcid": "PMC13737954",
  "pmid": "42992032",
  "published": "2026-10-20",
  "publisher": "American Chemical Society (ACS)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6fzxd6r5csmav.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:39Z",
      "native_id": "10.1021/acsomega.6c08569",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://pubs.acs.org/acsodf/article/doi/10.1021/acsomega.6c08569/5454850/Solvent-Free-Synthesis-of-Highly-Luminescent-Solid"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-09T12:23:02Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13737954",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.6c08569"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:2505|Carbon and Quantum Dots Applications",
      "subfield": "materials-polymers"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Solvent-Free Synthesis of Highly Luminescent Solid-State Boric Acid-Assisted Carbon Dots for Stable and High-Contrast Latent Fingerprint Visualization",
  "title_text": "Solvent-Free Synthesis of Highly Luminescent Solid-State Boric Acid-Assisted Carbon Dots for Stable and High-Contrast Latent Fingerprint Visualization",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T12:23:02Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6fzxd6r5csmav",
  "venue": "ACS Omega",
  "versions": []
}