Carbon Dots as Nano-Organocatalysts for Synthetic Applications

Over the last decades, organic chemistry has taken a resolute step toward green catalytic synthesis. This tries to ensure efficient and sustainable base chemical production, while also safeguarding human health and the environment. To this end, the development of novel, nontoxic, and effective catalytic systems that are capable of driving value-added chemical transformations in environmentally benign solvents (e.g., water) is highly desirable. Moreover, these new catalysts need to be metal-free, easy-to-prepare, and potentially recyclable. Carbon dots, which are relatively new carbon-based nanoparticles, fulfill all these requirements because of their outstanding physicochemical features and thus have emerged as promising nanocatalytic platforms. This Perspective highlights the recent advances in synthesis of carbon dots and their applications in organic catalysis and photocatalysis, with particular attention to green nonmetal-doped systems. Finally, forward-looking opportunities within this field are mentioned here.