Emerging synthetic strategies, tunable properties, and multifunctional applications of metal-doped carbon dots: A review

HERRERA, ELISA; ALGARRA, MANUEL; GIL, ANTONIO

ADVANCES IN COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE.

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Año: 2026

0001-8686

Because of its unique characteristics and numerous prospective uses, metal-doped carbon dots(M@CDs) are gaining more interest. Through orbital interactions between metal and carbonatoms, metal integration alters the electrical structure, nanostructure, and chemical makeup ofcarbon dots (CDs). These materials are extremely adaptable for a variety of applications sincethe addition of metal ions results in noticeable changes in optical, electrical, magnetic, andchemical behavior. The synthetic methods for creating M@CDs are outlined in this review,which also looks at the physicochemical characteristics of metal ions and provides examples oftheir use in biomedicine, sensing, imaging, and catalysis. Additionally, it describes thedifficulties that M@CDs synthesis is currently facing and provides a prognosis for futureadvancements, paying special emphasis to new breakthroughs in multimodal biosensing thatare aided by machine learning techniques.