New rout for synthesizing triammonium citrate crystal with unique crystallography and its application in synthesizing nitrogen doped graphene quantum dot

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Rezaii, Ebrahim^a | Miardan, Leila Nazmi^a | Mahkam, Mehrdad^{a; *} | Soltani, Behzad^a | Ziegler, Christopher J.^b

Affiliations: [a] Department of Chemistry, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz, Iran | [b] Department of Chemistry, University of Akron, Akron, OH, USA

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Mehrdad Mahkam, Department of Chemistry, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz, Iran. E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract: Triammonium citrate crystal (TAC) has many applications in food, pharmaceutical, agricultural and other industries. In this work, TAC crystals were synthesized using a new method and with the least use of materials and tools. This crystal has a unique structure and special and new angles and bonds that were identified by crystallography. This crystal was then used to synthesize nitrogen- doped graphene quantum dot (N-GQD) with hydrothermal method. Synthesized N-GQD has particular morphology, fluorescence and viscosity. Compared with other nitrogen compounds necessary for N-GQDs synthesis, ammonia is much more suitable due to its low toxicity and stability. Synthesized TAC and N-GQD were identified by FT-IR, XRD, TGA, EDS, SEM, crystallography and fluorescence.

Keywords: Triammonium citrate, crystal, nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dot, crystallography

DOI: 10.3233/MGC-210132

Journal: Main Group Chemistry, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 467-480, 2022