Abstract Carbon dots (CDs) – small crystalline or amorphous carbon-based nanoparticles – have attracted much attention as promising fluorescent materials for a wide range of applications. One of their widely accepted advantages is the simplicity of the formation of highly luminescent CDs from a wide variety of organic precursors. At the same time, several recent studies on these chemically synthesized CDs raised questions about the nature of the resulting products. Their strong fluorescence can arise due to the presence of molecular organic fluorophores, not necessary CDs, as was assumed in the earlier publications. In this review, we consider fundamental characteristics of CDs and discuss several issues that currently prevent a better understanding of their structure-property correlation. Analysis of recent related studies identifying the presence of organic fluorophores in CDs with an emphasis on the optical properties of the synthesis products shows that their emission characteristics may be a complex interplay of stand-alone molecular fluorophores and their aggregates, possibly embedded in an amorphous carbon/polymer network. The review concludes with an outlook towards the challenges in the field of the bottom-up synthesized CDs, and their proper identification within the variety of the organic side-products eventually formed during the synthesis.

中文翻译：

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分子荧光团对化学合成碳点研究领域的影响

摘要 碳点 (CDs) - 小的结晶或无定形碳基纳米粒子 - 作为具有广泛应用前景的荧光材料而备受关注。它们被广泛接受的优势之一是从各种有机前体形成高发光 CD 的简单性。与此同时，最近对这些化学合成 CD 的几项研究提出了对所得产品性质的质疑。它们的强荧光可能是由于分子有机荧光团的存在而不是必需的 CD，如早期出版物中所假设的那样。在这篇综述中，我们考虑了 CD 的基本特征，并讨论了目前阻碍更好地理解它们的结构 - 性质相关性的几个问题。最近的相关研究分析了 CD 中有机荧光团的存在，重点是合成产物的光学特性，表明它们的发射特征可能是独立分子荧光团及其聚集体的复杂相互作用，可能嵌入无定形碳中/聚合物网络。综述最后展望了自下而上合成 CD 领域的挑战，以及它们在合成过程中最终形成的各种有机副产物中的正确识别。可能嵌入无定形碳/聚合物网络中。综述最后展望了自下而上合成 CD 领域的挑战，以及它们在合成过程中最终形成的各种有机副产物中的正确识别。可能嵌入无定形碳/聚合物网络中。综述最后展望了自下而上合成 CD 领域的挑战，以及它们在合成过程中最终形成的各种有机副产物中的正确识别。