  The effective entrapment of Carbon dots (CDs) into a polymer-silica hybrid
matrix, formed as free standing transparent flexible films, is presented. CDs
of 3 nm mean size with strong photoluminescence are embedded into a silica
matrix during the sol-gel procedure, using tetraethylorthosilicate and F127
triblock copolymer as the structure directing agent under acidic conditions.
The final hybrid nanostructure forms free standing transparent films that show
high flexibility and long term stable CDs luminescence indicating the
protective character of the hybrid matrix. It is crucial that the
photoluminescence of the hybrid's CDs is not seriously affected after thermal
treatment at 550C for 30min. Moreover, the herein reported hybrid is
demonstrated to be suitable for the fabrication of advanced photonic structures
using soft lithography process due to its low shrinkage and distortion upon
drying.
