Carbon dots embedded nanofiber films: Large-scale fabrication and enhanced mechanical properties

Abstract Valuable application prospects and large-scale production technologies are powerful driving forces for the development of materials science. Carbon dots (CDs) are a kind of promising carbon-based fluorescent nanomaterials, which possess wide application prospects based and even beyond the fluorescence properties. Herein, we report the fast and high-yield synthesis of CDs and the large-scale preparation of fluorescent nanofiber films with enhanced mechanical properties. CDs were prepared from magnetic hyperthermia treatment of citric acid and carbamide, with the output of 25.37 g in a single batch. The as-prepared CDs exhibit a high absolute photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield (QY) of 67% and wonderful dispersibility in polar solvents. Then, solution blow spinning of CDs and polymer matrixes of alcohol soluble polyurethane (APU) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) led to large-area fluorescent CDs-embedded nanofiber films, APU/CDs (size: 120 cm × 18 cm) and PAN/CDs (size: 120 cm × 22 cm), respectively. The resultant large-area APU/CDs and PAN/CDs nanofiber films have dramatically enhanced mechanical properties, to show integrated improvement of tensile strength and elongation.