Citrus limetta Organic\nWaste Recycled Carbon Nanolights: Photoelectro Catalytic, Sensing,\nand Biomedical Applications

Abstract

The\npresent work reports green route-waste recycled carbon nanolights,\ni.e., carbon dots (GCDs), synthesized via a facile one-step pyrolysis\nmethod from Citrus limetta waste pulp.\nThe size of these obtained pristine GCDs is ∼4–7 nm\n(HR-TEM), with high optical and structural quality as revealed by\nFT-IR and Raman spectroscopic analysis. They exhibit the highest quantum\nyield of 63.3% over other similar green synthesized GCDs, favorable\nfor many applications. Further, we demonstrate the multifunctional\naspects of these synthesized GCDs for photoelectrochemical water splitting,\nphotocatalytic methylene blue degradation, Fe­(III) ions sensing, bactericidal\nactivity (against E. coli and S. aureus), and bioimaging with excellent performance.\nThe visible light active characteristic of GCDs is observed to achieve\nan efficient current density of ∼6 mA/cm² toward\nwater splitting. This study demonstrates the waste to wealth potential\nof recycled waste derived GCDs in a wide range of application domains.