Carbogenic nanodots: photoluminescence and room-temperature ferromagnetism

Herein, blue fluorescent carbogenic nanodots (CNDs) with room-temperature ferromagnetism were synthesized by thermal decomposition of organic precursors at different temperatures. Photoluminescence (PL) studies show excitation-wavelength-dependent emission properties and PL excitation (PLE) studies confirm the triplet ground state of carbene at the zigzag edge as the fluorescent center. Room-temperature magnetic studies reveal the ferromagnetic nature of CNDs and temperature-dependent studies show the presence of an antiferromagnetic phase along with a ferromagnetic phase below 50 K. EPR studies reveal the presence of conduction electrons and localized spins with different g factors. Localized spins at zigzag edges are the origin of the unconventional magnetic behavior, whereas exchange coupling between conduction and localized spins are responsible for long-range magnetic ordering.