Graphene Quantum Dots: Emerging Organic Materials with Remarkable and Tunable Luminescence Features

Abstract Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are recently discovered carbon-based materials that correspond to nano-fragments of functional graphene-like structures. They could be synthesized either by conventional stepwise organic synthesis or, more rapidly, by either top-down or bottom-up one step approaches. Regardless of the synthetic route, GQDs display photoluminescence features (fluorescence and/or phosphorescence) that could be finely tuned according to their surface and edges chemistry. This makes this new organic material highly valuable in applications ranging from imaging, sensing and optoelectronics.