Synthesis, properties and food packaging applications of sulfur quantum dots: a review

About one billion tons of food is wasted annually due to microbial contamination and oxidative deterioration. Actually, this issue is solved by hazardous and costly functional materials in the food packaging industry, calling for safer and sustainable alternatives such as sulfur quantum dots derived from sublimed sulfur, an excessively produced and underutilized waste by-product of the petroleum industry. Here, we review the synthesis, properties and food packaging applications of sulfur quantum dots. Properties include biological and functional properties, such as antimicrobial activity, antioxidant activity, biocompatibility, and nontoxicity.