Carbon nanodots (or Carbon quantum dots, CQDs) represent a newly discovered class of nanocarbon materials, inspiring the gradually expansion of research efforts due to the increasing number of identified favorable properties. In fact, in less than a decade (2004) since their first accidental identification in carbonaceous soot, surface-passivated CQDs are already rivaling the position of traditional semiconductor-based quantum dots as top-performance photoluminescent materials, while offering at the same time radical advantages in usability and production costs. Their immediate application in bioimaging is already ascertained, however scarce studies are employing these materials in non-biological fields, even though reports demonstrating the capacity for photo-induced electron-transfer behavior in CQD leads us to the conclusion that they may additionally hold compelling potential in photovoltaics and CQD-LEDs.
It is the goal of this project to demonstrate the functionality of optoelectronic devices – LEDs and PVs – based on CQDs by thoroughly understanding from experimental and theoretical point of views the electronic, optical and transport properties of the appropriately passivated CQDs.
