Fluorescence spectroscopy of graphene quantum dots: temperature effect at different excitation wavelengths

This paper reports a comprehensive study of temperature dependence of fluorescence spectroscopy of graphene quantum dots at different excitation wavelengths. Very significant (more than 50%) and similar decrease of normalized spectrum intensity is observed within temperature range less than 80 °C for excitation wavelengths of 310 nm, 340 nm and 365 nm. Besides, the temperature dependence of the red-shift of spectrum peak shows different wavelength dependence characteristic with coefficient as high as 0.062 nm K−1 for the same temperature range, which gives us a hint about selecting the right excitation wavelength by compromising the excitation efficiency for fluorescence intensity and the temperature coefficient for peak shift in thermal applications. Temperature dependence of peak width is in a weakly linear relationship with a coefficient of 0.026 nm K−1. Regarding the excellent stability and reversibility during thermal measurement, graphene quantum dot is a good candidate for the implementation in the nanoscale thermometry, especially in the bio-thermal field considering its superior biocompatibility and low cytotoxicity.