Conquering Aggregation-Induced Solid-State Luminescence Quenching of Carbon Dots through a Carbon Dots-Triggered Silica Gelation Process

Aggregation-induced luminescence quenching of carbon dots (CDots) is the main obstacle for their applications in the solid state. Herein, we report a method to produce strongly luminescent CDots@silica composite gels with highly concentrated emitting centers, where the gelation of tetraethyl orthosilicate is initiated by the surface hydroxyl groups of CDots. The key feature of this approach is to prevent both the collision between high concentrated CDots in gelating solution and their aggregation upon drying. The resultant CDots@silica composite xerogel exhibits both high CDots loading fraction (19.2 wt %) and photoluminescence quantum yields (>40%).