A facile and energy-efficient method is presented for the large-scale synthesis of fluorescent carbon dots whose fluorescence emission wavelengths shift gradually from 630 to 400 nm with reduction in their concentration.
Three different carbon dots with high quantum yields were prepared via microwave method within 2 min. The hydroquinone-derived CDs could easily penetrate cells in 30 min.
Effective theranostic probes in cancer therapy are still a challenge. We report the selective killing of cancer cells upon photothermal ablation using a new class of 2,5-deoxyfructosazine-coated green-emissive carbon dots using mild LED-irradiation.