Preparation of Carbon Dots from PET Waste by One-step Hydrothermal Method and its Application in Light Blocking Films and LEDs.

An environmentally friendly PET-based Carbon Dots (PET-CDs) with excellent fluorescence properties were prepared with waste PET bottle, pyromellitic acid and ammonia water as raw materials by one-step hydrothermal method. The preparation mechanism of PET-CDs was as follows: PET first underwent ammonolysis reaction to produce terephthalic acid diamide and ethylene glycol, and then dehydrated and carbonized with pyromellitic acid to form PET-CDs. The as-prepared PET-CDs exhibit excitation-independent emission properties in the range from 340 to 440 nm, and the fluorescence quantum yield is as high as 87.

Solvothermal preparation of nitrogen-doped carbon dots with PET waste as precursor and their application in LEDs and water detection.

Developing novel, alternative ways to recycle PET waste, which has an important influence on reduction of landfilling and CO emissions, has always been a research hot spot for industry and academy. In this work, PET waste was adopted as precursor for the preparation of nitrogen-doped Carbon Dots (NCDs). Firstly, PET oligomers were obtained by alcoholysis of PET waste with ethylene glycol.