Dual functional carbon dots derived from cornflour via a simple one-pot hydrothermal route

Highly Photoluminescent (PL) carbon dots (CDs) with a PL quantum yield (PLQY) of 7.7% have been prepared from cornflour by a simple hydrothermal method. The as-prepared carbon dots have good water solubility, well distributed particle size, amorphous structure and acceptable fluorescence lifetime. Besides, due to the fairly good biocompatibility and outstanding fluorescent properties, the CDs were successfully applied to cell imaging and Cu2+ detecting.