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Suppressed blinking behavior of CdSe/CdS QDs by polymer coating.
Aidi Zhang1, Yannan Bian1, Jinjie Wang1
1School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, People's Republic of China. cqdong@sjtu.edu.cn jicunren@sjtu.edu.cn.
Nanoscale
|February 12, 2016
Summary
Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) exhibit blinking, limiting applications. This study developed a novel polymer shell synthesis to achieve 78% non-blinking QDs by passivating surface traps.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Physical Chemistry
Background:
- Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) possess excellent optical properties but suffer from fluorescence intermittency (blinking).
- QD blinking, dependent on surface state, hinders optical and biological applications.
- Existing suppression methods involve inorganic shells or organic molecules.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a "bottom-up" synthesis for CdSe/CdS/polymer core/shell/shell QDs.
- To control QD blinking behavior using in situ polymerization.
- To investigate the mechanism of blinking suppression.
Main Methods:
- Synthesized CdSe/CdS/polymer QDs via one-pot in situ polymerization.
- Utilized dithiothreitol (DTT), phenylenediamine (PDA), and hexamethylenediamine (HDA) monomers with hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene (HCCP).
- Regulated molar ratios of comonomers to tune QD blinking.
Main Results:
- Achieved up to 78% "non-blinking" CdSe/CdS/polymer QDs (on time > 99%).
- Demonstrated control over blinking behavior by adjusting polymer composition.
- Identified efficient passivation of QD surface traps by polyphosphazene polymers as the suppression mechanism.
Conclusions:
- The developed polyphosphazene polymer shell effectively suppresses QD blinking.
- This approach offers a promising strategy for enhancing QD performance in various applications.
- Surface trap passivation by sulfhydryl or phenyl groups is key to the observed blinking suppression.
