Carbonaceous Quantum Dots as Efficient Zero-dimensional Nanomaterials for Sensing Applications

Carbonaceous quantum dots (QDs), including carbon and graphene quantum dots, have been widely used recently in various sensing fields, such as healthcare sensing, environmental monitoring, and food safety. Owing to their exceptional electronic, fluorescent, photoluminescent, chemiluminescent, and electrochemiluminescent properties, carbonaceous QDs are essential tools for designing an ultra-sensitive sensing platform. In this chapter, we summarized the applications of carbonaceous QDs in the detection of various target analysts, citing heavy metals, toxic compounds, pesticides, and proteins (DNA, aptamer, and RNA). In this regard, the authors described the effects of synthetic methods and surface functionalization on the properties of carbonaceous QDs and the analytical performance of sensors. We believe that understanding these parameters gives us better sensors that could not be obtained by other means. To give the reader a clear vision of the implementation of these zero-dimensional nanomaterials in sensor architectures, a comparative study has been developed.