A facile and green approach to prepare carbon dots with pH-dependent fluorescence for patterning and bioimaging

the defect state. In addition, through the regulation of non-radiative recombination rate of CDs, all the obtained CDs could be applied as fluorescent sensing platforms toward the sensitive detection of the solution pH changes by the indication of CDs' fluorescent yield and lifetime variation. Moreover, it was also proven that the resulting CDs could be employed as fluorescent inks for printing patterns in anti-counterfeit applications and as fluorescent probes for bioimaging of osteoblasts.