Highly fluorescent and photostable organic- and water-soluble CdSe/ZnS core-shell quantum dots capped with thiols
Highly fluorescent organic- and water-soluble CdSe/ZnS core-shell quantum dots (QDs) with thiol ligands chemisorbed on the QD surface were synthesized by the replacement of amine ligands by alkyl thiols under very mild conditions. The QDs exhibited an even greater photostability than the initial core-shell amine capped QDs.
Unconventional Fluorescence Quenching in Naphthalimide-Capped CdSe/ZnS Nanoparticles
Core–shell (CS) CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QD) capped with ligands that possess a mercapto or an amino group and a naphthalimide (NI) as chromophore unit, linked by a short ethylene chain (CS@S–NI and CS@H2N–NI, respectively), have been synthesized and fully characterized by infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and voltammetry as well as by steady-state absorption and emission spectroscopies. The organic ligands HS–NI and H2N–NI act as bidentate ligands, thereby causing a drastic decrease in the QD emission. This was particularly evident in the case of CS@S–NI. This behavior has been compared with that of commercially availabl…
Photoluminescence Enhancement of CdSe Quantum Dots: A Case of Organogel–Nanoparticle Symbiosis
Highly fluorescent organogels (QD-organogel), prepared by combining a pseudopeptidic macrocycle and different types of CdSe quantum dots (QDs), have been characterized using a battery of optical and microscopic techniques. The results indicate that the presence of the QDs not only does not disrupt the supramolecular organization of the internal fibrillar network of the organogel to a significant extent, but it also decreases the critical concentration of gelator needed to form stable and thermoreversible organogels. Regarding the photophysical properties of the QDs, different trends were observed depending on the presence of a ZnS inorganic shell around the CdSe core. Thus, while the core-s…
Further insight into the photostability of the pyrene fluorophore in halogenated solvents.
Pyrene fluorophores of pyrene-functionalized CdSe quantum dots (QD@Py), as well as alkylpyrene and pyrene itself (Py), undergo fast degradation in aerated chloroform under ultraviolet-A (UV-A, 316<λ<400 nm) illumination. Steady-state fluorescence studies of irradiated chloroform solutions of QD@Py show formation of new bands, red-shifted compared to that of the pyrene moiety. Similar behaviour is observed for pyrene and the alkylpyrene system. Column chromatography of the pyrene photolysate in chloroform allowed us to isolate photoproducts arising from pyrene degradation, and to obtain information on the structure of the photoproducts responsible for the emission bands. The most predominant…
Quantum dot/cyclodextrin supramolecular systems based on efficient molecular recognition and their use for sensing.
A supramolecular system based on ketoprofen functionalised CdSe/ZnS nanoparticles and pyrene-modified β-CD was prepared and successfully used for molecular sensing of different analytes. In addition, a strategy for the individual recovery of all the components of the sensing assay is reported.
Fluorescence enhancement of amine-capped CdSe/ZnS quantum dots by thiol addition
The present communication reports that while addition of alkyl thiols drastically reduces the fluorescence of CdSe core quantum dots, it actually enhances the emission properties of already highly fluorescent amine-capped CdSe/ZnS core-shell quantum dots.