Synthesis and Properties of Photoluminescent Carbon Quantum Dot/Polyacrylonitrile Composite Nanofibers

Abstract

Carbon quantum dot (CQD)/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) composite nanofibers were fabricated using the electrospinning procedure. The composite nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy, UV–visible spectroscopy, fluorescence spectrophotometry, fluorescence microscopy, and reflection spectrophotometry. The produced CQD/PAN composite nanofibers exhibited multicolor emission under different excitation energies, which could be attributed to the presence of CQDs embedded inside the PAN matrix. Fluorescence microscopic images confirmed the uniform dispersion and the photoluminescence behavior of the composite CQD/PAN nanofibers. The produced nanofibers could be easily fabricated and potentially used in a variety of applications like photochemical reactions, biological imaging, and optoelectronic devices.