A facial synthesis of nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide quantum dot and its application in aqueous organics degradation

N-doped reduced graphene oxide quantum dots (N-rGQDs) have attracted more and more attention in efficient catalytic degradation of aqueous organic pollutants. However, the synthesis of N-rGQDs is generally a complex and high energy required process for the reduction and N-doping steps. In this study, a facile and green fabrication approach of N-rGQDs is established, based on a metal-free Fenton reaction without additional energy-input. The N structures of N-rGQDs play a significant role in the promotion of their catalytic performance. The N-rGQDs with relatively high percentage of aromatic nitrogen (N-Ar-rGQDs) perform excellent catalytic activities, with which the degradation efficiency of pollutant is enhanced by 25 times. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation also indicates aromatic nitrogen structures with electron-rich sites are prone to transfer electron, presenting a key role in the catalytic reaction. This metal-free Fenton process provides a green and cost-effective strategy for one-step fabrication of N-rGQDs with controllable features and potential environmental catalytic applications. (C) 2020 Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.

Automated summary

A green and energy-efficient method for preparing N-doped reduced graphene oxide quantum dots (N-rGQDs) was proposed in this study, based on a metal-free Fenton reaction without additional energy input. N-rGQDs with a higher percentage of aromatic nitrogen exhibited excellent catalytic performance, enhancing pollutant degradation efficiency by 25 times.