Defect engineering route to boron nitride quantum dots and edge-hydroxylated functionalization for bio-imaging. Issue 77 (3rd August 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jung, Jung-Hwan; Kotal, Moumita; Jang, Min-Ho; Lee, Junseok; Cho, Yong-Hoon; Kim, Won-Jong; Oh, Il-Kwon
• Is Part Of: RSC advances. Volume 6:Issue 77(2016)
• Page Start: 73939
• Page End: 73946
• Publication Date: 2016-08-03
• Subjects: Chemistry -- Periodicals; 540.5
• DOI: 10.1039/c6ra12455k
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2046-2069

Abstract

Abstract : A defect engineering method was developed using physical energy sources to synthesize boron nitride quantum dots (BNQDs) for bioimaging applications. Abstract : Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) has considerable potential for applications owing to its attractive features including good thermal conductivity, chemical stability, and unique optical properties. However, because h-BN is chemically inert and thermally stable, it is hard to synthesize boron nitride quantum dots (BNQDs) using chemical methods such as oxidation, hetero-atom doping or functionalization. Here, we report a defect engineering method to synthesize BNQDs from h-BN using physical energy sources including an impinging process of heated iron nanoparticles, microwave irradiation and sonication. Furthermore, edge-hydroxylated functionalization was employed to enhance the intracellular uptake of the BNQDs in cells for bioimaging. The edge-hydroxylated BNQDs (EH-BNQDs) showed blue colored photoluminescence with 325 nm laser excitation, good cytotoxicity performance with approximately 100% cell viability, and a good attachment to cell surfaces. The successful endocytosis of EH-BNQDs using a cancer cell line was also demonstrated.