A novel and highly stable dual-emission carbon dots-based phosphor

A novel green/red dual-emission carbon dots-based phosphor (named as GRCDs phosphor) was successfully prepared by introducing calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)₂] as matrix material mixed with green-emitting carbon dots (CDs) for the first time. The addition of Ca(OH)₂ not only prevents fluorescent self-quenching caused by polymerization of CDs in the solid state but also promotes the red emission of CDs due to abundant functional groups on the surface. Furthermore, the detailed characterizations of the structure and optical properties show that the hydroxyl groups play a crucial role for the red emission of GRCDs phosphor. As-prepared GRCDs phosphor possesses outstanding thermal stability as well as excellent water stability. This finding provides a new way for the development of CDs-based phosphors.