Carbon Dots: The Newest Member of the Carbon Nanomaterials Family

Carbon nanomaterials have been extensively researched in the past few years owing to their interesting properties. The massive research efforts resulted in the emergence of carbon dots, which belong to the carbon nanomaterials family. Carbon dots (C-dots) have garnered the attention of researchers mainly due to their convenient availability from organic as well as inorganic materials and also due to the novel properties they exhibit. C-Dots have been said to overcome the era of quantum dots, referring to their levels of toxicity and biocompatibility. In this review, we focus on the discovery of C-dots, their structure and composition, surface passivation to enhance their optical properties, the various synthetic methods used, their applications in different areas, and future perspectives. Emphasis has been given to greener approaches for the synthesis of C-dots in order to make them cost effective as well as to improve their biocompatibility.