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Quantum dots generally refer to specially fabricated nanocrystals that exhibit unique electrical and optical properties due to their inherent quantum properties. However, conventional technology has limited quantum dots to toxic and costly metals as raw materials.
A new study has found a cheaper, safer alternative material that could be further purified to replace toxic metal quantum dots with the same efficiency in various applications.
While there have been prior studies on finding non-toxic and more cost-effective alternatives, these proposed quantum dots emit less light when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light. In the new study, titled "Ultrafast nanometric imaging of energy flow within and between single carbon dots" and published in the National Academy of Sciences' latest Proceedings, researchers detail how ultrafast nanometric imaging has revealed clusters of good and bad emitters in entire populations of carbon dots. Researchers suggest that by selecting only the good "super-emitters," they can use carbon nanodots as a better alternative.