Highly green fluorescent Nb2C MXene quantum dots

Abstract

Here, two dimensional Nb₂C quantum dots with green fluorescence were fabricated for the first time with a quantum yield (QY) of up to 19%, the highest reported for Nb₂C dots so far with good photostability and pH stability. The S,N doping on Nb₂C was considered to be the main reason for the enhanced high QY of the Nb₂C dots and was proved by the density functional theory (DFT) calculations. It was demonstrated that the fluorescent probe could be utilized effectively for 3D brain organoid labeling and thus has huge prospects in biological sensing.