Abstract
We herein report a straightforward soot-based synthesis and characterization of the negatively charged, hydrophilic, photoluminescent nanocarbon. The photoluminescent nanocarbon was prepared by refluxing castor oil soot in nitric acid. The as-obtained fluorescent nanocarbon shows multiple colors under UV exposure and was characterized with surface morphological and spectral studies. Additionally, the photoluminescence nature of the nanocarbon was tunable by changing the pH or the dilution factor. During the course of the investigation, it has been found that, the photoluminescence nature observed here is not attributed to the presence of poly aromatic hydrocarbons, but solely due to the trait of the fluorescent nanocarbon. These results indicate that interparticle surface plasmon resonance plays a key role in the exhibition of photoluminescence. Furthermore, the feasibility of photoluminescent nanocarbon as a plausible tool for cell imaging and electrochemical application of the oxidized nanocarbon has also been examined. © 2012 The Chemical Society Located in Taipei & Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.