Advances in carbon quantum dot technology for food safety: preparation, modification, applications and mechanisms

Functionalized carbon quantum dots (CQDs) show great potential for application in the field of food safety by combining their use with other technologies. CQDs are good candidates in this regard due to the wide range of sources of raw materials for their synthesis, and their good biocompatibility and stable fluorescence. This paper analyses the properties of CQDs and compares them with those of conventional semiconductor quantum dots. It analyses the similarities and differences between hydrothermal carbonization, pyrolysis and microwave-assisted synthesis of CQDs, and reviews the principles and methods of functionalization of CQDs through surface modification and doping. Finally, it discusses the applications of functionalized CQDs in food safety, such as detection and sensing, bio-inhibition and photocatalytic degradation, and the mechanisms of detection.