Room temperature phosphorescence from moisture-resistant and oxygen-barred carbon dot aggregates

Phosphorescence is difficult to be observed from carbon dot powder due to the deliquescence and self-quenching in the aggregation state. In this study, aggregation-induced room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) is first reported in self-quenching-resistant nitrogen-doped carbon dot powder, which is suggested to take advantage of the moisture-resistance, rigidization and oxygen-barrier induced by PVA-chains. Furthermore, the optical mechanism of RTP as well as fluorescence is investigated through the abnormal excitation-responsive phenomena, and the potential application in temperature sensing is also preliminarily evaluated. This study may benefit in developing phosphorescence from undesirable aggregation through structure design and exploiting emerging applications for carbon dots.