Concentration-mediated multicolor fluorescence polymer carbon dots.

Polymer dots (PDs) showing concentration-mediated multicolor fluorescence were first prepared from sulfuric acid-treated dehydration of Pluronic® F-127 in a single step. Pluronic-based PDs (P-PDs) showed high dispersion stability in solvent media and exhibited a fluorescence emission that was widely tunable from red to blue by adjusting both the excitation wavelengths and the P-PD concentration in an aqueous solution. This unique fluorescence behavior of P-PDs might be a result of cross-talk in the fluorophores of the poly(propylene glycol)-rich core inside the P-PD through either energy transfer or charge transfer. Reconstruction of the surface energy traps of the P-PDs mediated through aggregation may lead to a new generation of carbon-based nanomaterials possessing a fluorescence emission and tunable by adjusting the concentration. These structures may be useful in the design of multifunctional carbon nanomaterials with tunable emission properties according to a variety of internal or external stimuli.