Detoxification of Toxic Organic Dye by Heteroatom-Doped Fluorescent Carbon Dots Prepared by Green Hydrothermal Method Using Garcinia mangostana Extract

In this work, nitrogen- and oxygen-doped fluorescent carbon dots (NOFCDs) were prepared using a simple green hydrothermal carbonization technique. Aqueous ammonia and the plant extract of Garcinia mangostana were used as a source of nitrogen and carbon, respectively. The prepared NOFCDs were examined using a variety of microscopic and spectroscopic techniques for physicochemical characterization. Fluorescence and UV–visible spectroscopy measurements were used to analyze the NOFCDs’ excitation-dependent fluorescent emission and absorption nature. It is observed that fluorescence intensity was excited at 320 nm and the strongest emission peak absorbed at 405 nm. The HRTEM imaging revealed NOFCDs to be spherical in shape with particle size at 3.58 nm. Moreover, the amorphous nature of NOFCDs was verified by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and SAED pattern techniques. Through FTIR, XPS, and EDS investigations, the doping of nitrogen and oxygen over the surface of the NOFCDs was evaluated and validated. The presence of carboxylic, amine, hydroxyl, and carbonyl functional groups on NOFCDs’ surface was shown by XPS and FTIR investigations. By using NaBH4, the obtained NOFCDs were demonstrated to possess excellent catalytic activity in the detoxification of methylene blue. Overall, this study revealed that the NOFCDs synthesized from green sources could be a promising material for catalytic and environmental remediation applications.