Biomass derived carbon based nanostructures for multimodal applications

Abstract

This thesis work is focused to develop high quality biomass derived newlineCarbon based nanostructures for versatile applications includes treating newlinewastewater and monitoring biological species Initially we have synthesized the partially exfoliated graphite from the corncob by the improved hummer method for wastewater treatment In this study the adsorptive characteristics of partially exfoliated graphite were demonstrated by the presence of halogenated organic dyes such as methylene blue MB and rhodamine B RhB The obtained results demonstrate that the partially exfoliated graphite shows higher adsorption efficacy against halogenated organic dyes even without the addition of any external newlinestimuli From these findings it is suggested that the partially exfoliated graphite can be served as a low-cost recyclable and efficient adsorbent for organic dye in a sustainable way of wastewater effluent material The next stage of this thesis work establishes the hydrothermal method to synthesize carbon quantum dots CQD from graphite biomass. This synthesized CQD provides efficient white light emitting characteristics with higher photoluminescence intensity even after three months of shelf-life and is stable at different pH conditions. The presence of Si and N impurities in the biomass gives a superior advantage in producing white light emission with high quantum yield and enhanced lifetime at ambient conditions. The CQD is highly sensitive against various organic and inorganic metal ions which helps to develop a high performance optical sensor Moreover it is also proved as an effective tool for rapid discrimination of toxic constituents in the environment newline newline