Photoluminescent carbon nanoparticles produced by confined combustion of aromatic compounds

Abstract We report new photoluminescent carbon nanoparticles having an average particle size of 50 nm. When dispersed in chloroform and excited with 325 nm wavelength, the solution showed strong photoluminescence at 475 nm with 12–13% quantum yield. A well dispersed photoluminescent solution can also be prepared with ethanol, xylene or hexane using the nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were prepared by a simple confined combustion of an aromatic compound such as benzene, toluene, xylene or a mixture thereof in air.