Biomass Derived Carbon Quantum Dots as Potential Tools for Sustainable Environmental Remediation and Eco-friendly Food Packaging

A sustainable solution to the rampant environmental pollution is vital to the improvement of quality of life on earth. The utilization of renewable resources and waste materials for environmental remediation promotes a circular economy. Carbon quantum dots (CQDs), a category of novel carbon nanoparticles, carry tremendous prospects for a wide range of applications due to their extraordinary physical and optical properties. They can be easily synthesized through cost-effective routes from a variety of biomass sources, further helping in more efficient management of different agro-industrial waste materials. Recently, the attention has shifted to the use of biomass-derived CQDs for environmental pollution remediation, with a greater emphasis on contaminated water resource treatment and the fabrication of eco-friendly food packaging materials. They have been studied for environmental applications including photocatalytic degradation, sensing, forward osmosis and adsorption. In addition, the use of CQDs as nanofillers in biopolymer nanocomposites enhance the mechanical, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of biodegradable food packaging. They also act as biomass derived UV adsorbents that slow down food degradation through photooxidation. This review aims to provide an insight into the synthesis of CQDs from different biomass sources, their subsequent surface modification and application in environmental remediation and biodegradable packaging applications. An up-to date literature regarding the same has been presented in this review.