This study focuses on the mechanism of fluorescence blinking of single carbon nanodots, which is one of their key but less understood properties. The results of our single-particle fluorescence study show that the mechanism of carbon nanodots blinking has remarkable similarities with that of semiconductor quantum dots. In particular, the temporal behavior of carbon nanodot blinking follows a power law both at room and at cryogenic temperatures. Our experimental data suggest that static quenching via Dexter-type electron transfer between surface groups of a nanoparticle plays a major role in the transition of carbon nanodots to off or gray states, whereas the transition back to on states is governed by an electron tunneling from the particle’s core. These findings advance our understanding of the complex mechanism of carbon nanodots emission, which is one of the key steps for their application in fluorescence imaging.

中文翻译：

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碳纳米点中的电荷驱动荧光闪烁

这项研究的重点是单个碳纳米点的荧光闪烁机制，这是它们的关键之一，但鲜为人知的特性。我们的单粒子荧光研究结果表明，碳纳米点闪烁的机制与半导体量子点具有显着的相似性。特别地，碳纳米点闪烁的时间行为在室温和低温下均遵循幂定律。我们的实验数据表明，通过纳米粒子表面基团之间的Dexter型电子转移进行的静态猝灭在碳纳米点向截止态或灰色态的转变中起主要作用，而向回到态的转变则受电子从纳米管隧穿的支配。粒子的核心。这些发现使我们对碳纳米点发射的复杂机制有了更深入的了解，