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Mocci F, de Villiers Engelbrecht L, Olla C, Cappai A, Casula MF, Melis C, Stagi L, Laaksonen A, Carbonaro CM. Carbon Nanodots from an In Silico Perspective. Chem Rev 2022; 122:13709-13799. [PMID: 35948072 PMCID: PMC9413235 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Carbon nanodots (CNDs) are the latest and most shining rising stars among photoluminescent (PL) nanomaterials. These carbon-based surface-passivated nanostructures compete with other related PL materials, including traditional semiconductor quantum dots and organic dyes, with a long list of benefits and emerging applications. Advantages of CNDs include tunable inherent optical properties and high photostability, rich possibilities for surface functionalization and doping, dispersibility, low toxicity, and viable synthesis (top-down and bottom-up) from organic materials. CNDs can be applied to biomedicine including imaging and sensing, drug-delivery, photodynamic therapy, photocatalysis but also to energy harvesting in solar cells and as LEDs. More applications are reported continuously, making this already a research field of its own. Understanding of the properties of CNDs requires one to go to the levels of electrons, atoms, molecules, and nanostructures at different scales using modern molecular modeling and to correlate it tightly with experiments. This review highlights different in silico techniques and studies, from quantum chemistry to the mesoscale, with particular reference to carbon nanodots, carbonaceous nanoparticles whose structural and photophysical properties are not fully elucidated. The role of experimental investigation is also presented. Hereby, we hope to encourage the reader to investigate CNDs and to apply virtual chemistry to obtain further insights needed to customize these amazing systems for novel prospective applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Mocci
- Department
of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University
of Cagliari, I-09042 Monserrato, Italy,
| | | | - Chiara Olla
- Department
of Physics, University of Cagliari, I-09042 Monserrato, Italy
| | - Antonio Cappai
- Department
of Physics, University of Cagliari, I-09042 Monserrato, Italy
| | - Maria Francesca Casula
- Department
of Mechanical, Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Cagliari, Via Marengo 2, IT 09123 Cagliari, Italy
| | - Claudio Melis
- Department
of Physics, University of Cagliari, I-09042 Monserrato, Italy
| | - Luigi Stagi
- Department
of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Laboratory of Materials Science and Nanotechnology, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - Aatto Laaksonen
- Department
of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University
of Cagliari, I-09042 Monserrato, Italy,Department
of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Arrhenius Laboratory, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden,State Key
Laboratory of Materials-Oriented and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 210009, P. R. China,Centre
of Advanced Research in Bionanoconjugates and Biopolymers, PetruPoni Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Aleea Grigore Ghica-Voda 41A, 700487 Iasi, Romania,Division
of Energy Science, Energy Engineering, Luleå
University of Technology, Luleå 97187, Sweden,
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Wang Z, Quik JTK, Song L, Wouterse M, Peijnenburg WJGM. Dissipative particle dynamic simulation and experimental assessment of the impacts of humic substances on aqueous aggregation and dispersion of engineered nanoparticles. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY 2018; 37:1024-1031. [PMID: 29240259 DOI: 10.1002/etc.4059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2017] [Revised: 07/27/2017] [Accepted: 12/08/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Comprehensive experimental quantification and mapping of the aggregation and dispersion state of engineered nanoparticles (NPs) in the presence of humic substances is a great challenge. Dissipative particle dynamic (DPD) simulation was adopted to investigate the aggregation and dispersion mechanisms of NPs in the presence of a humic substance analog. Twelve different types of NPs including 2 metal-based NPs, 7 metal oxide-based NPs, and 3 carbon-based NPs in pure water (pH 3.0) and algae medium (pH 8.0) in the presence of a humic substance analogy were selected for experimental verification of the DPD simulation results. In agreement with results obtained with dynamic light scattering and phase analysis light scattering techniques, the simulations demonstrated that the presence of humic substances reduced the aggregation extent of the NPs. The DPD simulations showed that the stability and dispersity of the NPs increased first, and then decreased with increasing concentrations of humic substances. Moreover, there existed a concentration of humic substances where the NPs became more stable and more dispersed, which was experimentally verified in the case of all the NPs in the pure water and in the algae medium. Furthermore, theory and simulation indicate that both hydrophobic and hydrogen interaction play an important role in controlling the formation of NP aggregates in the presence of humic substances. Electrostatic interaction and steric repulsion are the main mechanisms underlying the effects of humic substances on the aqueous dispersion stability of NPs. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:1024-1031. © 2017 SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhuang Wang
- Centre for Safety of Substances and Products, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
- Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Joris T K Quik
- Centre for Safety of Substances and Products, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
| | - Lan Song
- Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Marja Wouterse
- Centre for Safety of Substances and Products, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
| | - Willie J G M Peijnenburg
- Centre for Safety of Substances and Products, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
- Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Paloncýová M, Langer M, Otyepka M. Structural Dynamics of Carbon Dots in Water and N, N-Dimethylformamide Probed by All-Atom Molecular Dynamics Simulations. J Chem Theory Comput 2018; 14:2076-2083. [PMID: 29499118 PMCID: PMC5905991 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.7b01149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
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Carbon
dots (CDs), one of the youngest members of the carbon nanostructure
family, are now widely experimentally studied for their tunable fluorescence
properties, bleaching resistance, and biocompatibility. Their interaction
with biomolecular systems has also been explored experimentally. However,
many atomistic details still remain unresolved. Molecular dynamics
(MD) simulations enabling atomistic and femtosecond resolutions simultaneously
are a well-established tool of computational chemistry which can provide
useful insights into investigated systems. Here we present a full
procedure for performing MD simulations of CDs. We developed a builder
for generating CDs of a desired size and with various oxygen-containing
surface functional groups. Further, we analyzed the behavior of various
CDs differing in size, surface functional groups, and degrees of functionalization
by MD simulations. These simulations showed that surface functionalized
CDs are stable in a water environment through the formation of an
extensive hydrogen bonding network. We also analyzed the internal
dynamics of individual layers of CDs and evaluated the role of surface
functional groups on CD stability. We observed that carboxyl groups
interconnected the neighboring layers and decreased the rate of internal
rotations. Further, we monitored changes in the CD shape caused by
an excess of charged carboxyl groups or carbonyl groups. In addition
to simulations in water, we analyzed the behavior of CDs in the organic
solvent DMF, which decreased the stability of pure CDs but increased
the level of interlayer hydrogen bonding. We believe that the developed
protocol, builder, and parameters will facilitate future studies addressing
various aspects of structural features of CDs and nanocomposites containing
CDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markéta Paloncýová
- Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science , Palacký University in Olomouc , 17. listopadu 1192/12 , 771 46 Olomouc , Czech Republic
| | - Michal Langer
- Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science , Palacký University in Olomouc , 17. listopadu 1192/12 , 771 46 Olomouc , Czech Republic
| | - Michal Otyepka
- Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science , Palacký University in Olomouc , 17. listopadu 1192/12 , 771 46 Olomouc , Czech Republic
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Verma A, Parashar A, Packirisamy M. Atomistic modeling of graphene/hexagonal boron nitride polymer nanocomposites: a review. WIRES COMPUTATIONAL MOLECULAR SCIENCE 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/wcms.1346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Akarsh Verma
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee India
| | - Avinash Parashar
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee India
| | - M. Packirisamy
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Concordia University Montreal Canada
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