Photoluminescent carbon nanoparticles, or carbon dots, are an emerging class of materials that has recently attracted considerable attention for biomedical and energy applications. They are defined by characteristic sizes of <10 nm, a carbon-based core and the possibility to add various functional groups at their surface for targeted applications. These nanomaterials possess many interesting physicochemical and optical properties, which include tunable light emission, dispersibility and low toxicity. In this Review, we categorize how chemical tools impact the properties of carbon dots. We look for pre- and postsynthetic approaches for the preparation of carbon dots and their derivatives or composites. We then showcase examples to correlate structure, composition and function and use them to discuss the future development of this class of nanomaterials.

光致发光碳纳米颗粒或碳点是一类新兴的材料，最近在生物医学和能源应用中引起了相当大的关注。它们由 <10 nm 的特征尺寸、碳基核心以及在其表面添加各种官能团以用于目标应用的可能性来定义。这些纳米材料具有许多有趣的物理化学和光学特性，包括可调谐光发射、分散性和低毒性。在这篇评论中，我们对化学工具如何影响碳点的特性进行了分类。我们寻找用于制备碳点及其衍生物或复合材料的合成前和合成后方法。然后，我们展示关联结构的示例，