Synthesis and Optical Properties of Thiol Functionalized CdSe/ZnS (Core/Shell) Quantum Dots by Ligand Exchange

Journal Article · Thu Mar 20 04:00:00 UTC 2014 · Journal of Nanomaterials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/324972· OSTI ID:1124501

Zhu, Huaping ^[1]; Hu, Michael Z. ^[2]; Shao, Lei ^[3]; Yu, Kui ^[4]; Dabestani, Reza T ^[2]; Zaman, Md. Badruz ^[4]; Liao, Dr. Shijun ^[5]

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1. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); South China Univ. of Technology (SCUT), Gangzhou (China)
2. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
3. Beijing Univ. of Chemical Technology (China)
4. National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, ON (Canada)
5. South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, PR China

The colloidal photoluminescent quantum dots (QDs) of CdSe (core) and CdSe/ZnS (core/shell) were synthesized at different temperatures with different growth periods. The optical properties (i.e., UV/Vis spectra and photoluminescent emission spectra) of the resulting QDs were investigated. The CdSe/ZnS QDs exhibited higher photoluminescent (PL) efficiency and stability than their corresponding CdSe core QDs. Ligand exchange with various thiol molecules was performed to replace the initial surface passivation ligands, that is, trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) and trioctylphosphine (TOP), and the optical properties of the surface-modified QDs were studied. The thiol ligand molecules used included 1,4-benzenedimethanethiol, 1,16-hexadecanedithiol, 1,11-undecanedithiol, 11-mercapto-1-undecanol, and 1,8 octanedithiol. After the thiol functionalization, the CdSe/ZnS QDs exhibited significantly enhanced PL efficiency and storage stability. Besides surface passivation effect, such enhanced performance of thiol-functionalized QDs could be due to self-assembly formation of dimer/trimer clusters, in which QDs are linked by dithiol molecules. Effects of ligand concentration, type of ligand, and heating on the thiol stabilization of QDs were also discussed.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL); Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS); High Temperature Materials Laboratory (HTML)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1124501
• Journal Information: Journal of Nanomaterials, Journal Name: Journal of Nanomaterials Journal Issue: ID324972 Vol. 2014; ISSN 1687-4110
• Publisher: Hindawi
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY