UV and blue light cut-off filters using phosphorus doped carbon quantum dots extracted from raw egg yolk

Abstract Using raw egg yolk and phosphoric acid, a simple hydrothermal treatment for synthesizing carbon quantum dots (CQDs) has been developed for the manufacture of UV and blue light-blocking filters. Several samples with different doping ratios of phosphoric acid were prepared. Namely: reference (REF.), 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. The synthesized CQDs were embedded in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to produce blocking-light films with desired optical properties. Six films were prepared, one of which was PVA alone, and the other five samples were the prepared CQDs, with different phosphorus doping levels, mixed with PVA in a 1:1 ratio. We aimed to test the ability of these films to block ultraviolet rays and blue light. The experimental results revealed that the prepared films were able to block the blue light, emitted from a 450 nm blue LED, with blocking ratios of 7%, 17.5%, 27%, 30%, 37% and 70% for the films: PVA alone, REF., 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%, respectively. Moreover, it was found that these phosphorus-doped CQDs films can prevent destructive UV light with substantial value reaching 86%. These results suggest that carbon dots, derived from raw egg yolk, can be effectively applied to block harmful UV and blue lights.