A 2025 study by Lestari and colleagues reports a two-stage laboratory method: pyrolyze plastic-bag waste into crude carbon, then oxidize and carbonize that material hydrothermally in hydrogen peroxide. The study’s optimized conditions were 300 °C for 4 hours during pyrolysis, followed by 180 °C for 6 hours with 5 wt% hydrogen peroxide; the authors reported a 10.04% quantum yield. These are study-specific results, not a universal recipe or a guarantee of reproduction.
What the reported method involves
The procedure uses plastic bags as its carbon precursor. Its two stages convert the plastic into crude carbon, then treat that material in a sealed, Teflon-lined hydrothermal reactor. The study varied precursor amount, hydrogen peroxide concentration and hydrothermal duration before identifying its optimized conditions.
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Equipment and materials in the study
- Plastic bags, cut into small pieces
- A heating setup for pyrolysis
- Hydrogen peroxide solution
- A Teflon-lined hydrothermal autoclave reactor
- A laboratory centrifuge for clarifying the product
Study-specific procedure
- Make crude carbon: The researchers pyrolyzed about 1 g of cut plastic bags at 300 °C for 4 hours.
- Prepare the hydrothermal mixture: They mixed 0.25 g of the pyrolysis product with 15 mL of 5 wt% hydrogen peroxide solution. These were the study’s optimized amounts and concentration.
- Carry out hydrothermal treatment: They heated the mixture at 180 °C for 6 hours in a Teflon-lined autoclave.
- Clarify the product: The researchers centrifuged the mixture at 4000 rpm for two 15-minute cycles, then used the clear supernatant for characterization.
The paper does not provide a complete safety or disposal procedure for other laboratories. Treat these details as a published experimental account, not a ready-to-run protocol: a lab must establish compatible materials, vessel fill limits, rated temperature and pressure, heating and cooling procedures, and waste handling under its own approved risk assessment and local chemical hygiene plan.
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Lestari et al. reported that their optimized product had a quantum yield of 10.04% and a size distribution of 1.5–4.5 nm. They reported oxygen-containing surface groups, including carboxyl, carbonyl and hydroxyl groups, and described a defected graphitic framework based on their characterization. These measurements characterize that study’s product; they do not establish that another lab using similar nominal conditions will obtain the same material or performance. Read the 2025 study in Carbon Research.
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Reported iron-sensing results
For Fe³⁺ sensing in water, the authors reported a 9.50 µM detection limit and a correlation coefficient of 0.9983. They also reported 94–102% recovery in tested drinking- and river-water samples. Those results apply to the paper’s experiments and do not establish general water-testing performance.
Stability and proposed mechanism
The paper reports stability tests under UV exposure, salt concentration and storage; under its storage conditions, fluorescence intensity showed no notable variation after 35 days. The authors interpret the process as polymer carbon-bond breakdown during pyrolysis, followed by oxidation, carbonization and surface passivation in the hydrothermal step. They attribute Fe³⁺-related fluorescence quenching to interactions with oxygen-containing surface groups and electron transfer; these are the authors’ interpretations of their observations.
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How this method compares with other plastic-waste routes
Published approaches include hydrothermal, solvothermal, pyrolysis, combined pyrolysis–hydrothermal, air-oxidation and flash Joule-heating routes. Their products and reported performance are not directly interchangeable: precursor polymer, pretreatment, purification, measurement methods and surface chemistry can all differ. A 2023 review surveys methods and characterization approaches in the field. Read the review of plastic-waste-derived carbon dots.
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| Study or route | Reported method or precursor | Reported result | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lestari et al., 2025 | Plastic-bag pyrolysis followed by hydrothermal treatment in hydrogen peroxide | 10.04% quantum yield; 1.5–4.5 nm size distribution | Results belong to that study’s optimized procedure. |
| Chaudhary et al., 2021 | Discarded plastic bags, cups and bottles heated to make carbon dots | Emission near 422 nm; quantum yields of approximately 62%, 65% and 64% for bag-, cup- and bottle-derived dots, respectively | These figures are from a different study and method, not the 2025 protocol. See the 2021 study abstract. |
| RSC study, 2023 | One-pot hydrothermal route using polyethylene-based bags and polypropylene-based surgical masks | Indexed summary reports a 96% production yield | That reported production yield is not a quantum yield; the indexed summary does not support additional procedural detail. See the Green Chemistry article record. |
For a meaningful comparison, check the identified plastic and pretreatment, reaction conditions, added oxidants or passivating agents, purification, particle and structural evidence, optical measurements, and intended application. A high quantum yield alone is not enough to rank unlike products or procedures.
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How to characterize the resulting dots
Appearance or fluorescence alone cannot establish particle size, structure or composition. The 2023 review describes microscopy, structural, vibrational and optical methods used in carbon-dot research. Each technique answers a different question:
- TEM: supports estimates of particle size and morphology.
- FTIR and Raman spectroscopy: provide evidence about bonding, surface groups and defects.
- XRD: contributes structural information.
- Optical spectroscopy: measures absorption and fluorescence response; quantum-yield claims need to remain tied to the study’s measurement context.
Interpret these measurements as complementary evidence rather than treating any single result as proof of a complete chemical structure.
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Safety and limits of the evidence
This method combines hydrogen peroxide, elevated temperatures and a sealed hydrothermal vessel. A consumer pressure cooker or ordinary sealed bottle is not a substitute for a hydrothermal reactor rated for the intended conditions. Qualified laboratory personnel must verify vessel compatibility and operating limits, fill level, pressure, cooling, and waste handling against the manufacturer’s instructions and local rules.
The published work does not establish that all waste plastics can be used interchangeably, that the process is environmentally beneficial across its full life cycle, or that the resulting dots are safe for biomedical use or environmental release. The field includes varied methods and applications, and the available study-specific findings should not be stretched into claims of universal low toxicity, scale-up readiness or commercial viability.
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