Emerging synthetic strategies, tunable properties, and multifunctional applications of metal-doped carbon dots: A review

Because of its unique characteristics and numerous prospective uses, metal-doped carbon dots (M@CDs) are gaining more interest. Through orbital interactions between metal and carbon atoms, metal integration alters the electrical structure, nanostructure, and chemical makeup of carbon dots (CDs). These materials are extremely adaptable for a variety of applications since the addition of metal ions results in noticeable changes in optical, electrical, magnetic, and chemical behavior. The synthetic methods for creating M@CDs are outlined in this review, which also looks at the physicochemical characteristics of metal ions and provides examples of their use in biomedicine, sensing, imaging, and catalysis. Additionally, it describes the difficulties that M@CDs synthesis is currently facing and provides a prognosis for future advancements, paying special emphasis to new breakthroughs in multimodal biosensing that are aided by machine learning techniques.