Rapid acid-catalyzed synthesis and surface modification of isopropanol-derived carbon dots
Abstract
A rapid acid-catalyzed carbonization route was developed for the synthesis of carbon dots from isopropyl alcohol in concentrated sulfuric acid. Initial screening showed that reaction at 150–170 °C produced nanoparticles with narrow size distributions. The addition of water to the precursor mixture acted as both a thermal heat sink and a reaction moderator, suppressing overcarbonization and improving photoluminescence quantum yields. Box-Behnken response surface optimization identified a water-containing formulation that combined high quantum yield with reproducible synthesis, while selected conditions gave reaction yields up to 71.2%. Two representative base systems were modified with primary alkanols in a sequential 100 °C process. XPS and ATR-FTIR analysis indicated that surface functionalization proceeded mainly through sulfate/sulfite-related esterification or transesterification, accompanied by oxidative side reactions, rather than through classical carboxylic acid esterification. The modified carbon dots exhibited enhanced fluorescence quantum yields and reduced surface tension. Langmuir DPPC monolayer studies showed that, for the more oxidized water-derived base system, longer alkyl chains systematically increased membrane-insertion activity, with Δπ increasing from approximately 2.2 to 19.3 mN·m −1 as the modifier was extended from butanol to octanol. These results establish a tunable platform for controlling the optical, structural, and interfacial properties of carbon dots through synthesis optimization and post-surface modification.
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BibTeX
@misc{fulop2026rapid,
title = {{Rapid acid-catalyzed synthesis and surface modification of isopropanol-derived carbon dots}},
author = {Dániel Fülöp and Adél Sarolta Rácz and Dániel Olasz and Gergő Gyulai},
howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15008052/v1},
url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008052/v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Rapid acid-catalyzed synthesis and surface modification of isopropanol-derived carbon dots
AU - Dániel Fülöp
AU - Adél Sarolta Rácz
AU - Dániel Olasz
AU - Gergő Gyulai
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/30
PB - ChemRxiv
DO - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15008052/v1
UR - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008052/v1
AB - A rapid acid-catalyzed carbonization route was developed for the synthesis of carbon dots from isopropyl alcohol in concentrated sulfuric acid. Initial screening showed that reaction at 150–170 °C produced nanoparticles with narrow size distributions. The addition of water to the precursor mixture acted as both a thermal heat sink and a reaction moderator, suppressing overcarbonization and improving photoluminescence quantum yields. Box-Behnken response surface optimization identified a water-containing formulation that combined high quantum yield with reproducible synthesis, while selected conditions gave reaction yields up to 71.2%. Two representative base systems were modified with primary alkanols in a sequential 100 °C process. XPS and ATR-FTIR analysis indicated that surface functionalization proceeded mainly through sulfate/sulfite-related esterification or transesterification, accompanied by oxidative side reactions, rather than through classical carboxylic acid esterification. The modified carbon dots exhibited enhanced fluorescence quantum yields and reduced surface tension. Langmuir DPPC monolayer studies showed that, for the more oxidized water-derived base system, longer alkyl chains systematically increased membrane-insertion activity, with Δπ increasing from approximately 2.2 to 19.3 mN·m −1 as the modifier was extended from butanol to octanol. These results establish a tunable platform for controlling the optical, structural, and interfacial properties of carbon dots through synthesis optimization and post-surface modification.
ER -