Carbon dots from alcohol molecules: principles and the reaction mechanism.

Carbon dots (CDs) have attracted significant attention in the energy, environment, and biology fields due to their exceptional physicochemical properties. However, owing to the multifarious precursors and complex reaction mechanisms, the production of carbon dots from organic molecules is still a mysterious process. Inspired by the color change of sodium hydroxide ethanol solution after standing for some time, in this work, we thoroughly investigated the reaction mechanism from alcohol molecules to carbon dots through a lot of experiments and theoretical calculations, and it was found that the rate-controlling reaction is the formation of aldehydes, and it is also confirmed that there is a self-catalysis reaction, which can accelerate the conversion from alcohol to aldehyde, further facilitating the final formation of CDs.