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Radiative exciton recombination dynamics in QD-tagged polystyrene microspheres

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Abstract

Fluorescent polystyrene microspheres are prepared by the incorporation of fluorescent CdSe/CdS core/shell semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum dots, QDs) using the emulsification/solvent evaporation method. The radiative exciton recombination dynamics is investigated by nanosecond time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy at ambient conditions. The time constants of fast and slow fluorescence decay in QDs, dispersed in toluene, were 3.5 and 17.8 ns, respectively. For the QD-tagged microspheres, the time constants of fast and slow processes were ~2–3 and ~11–12 ns, respectively, and did not depend significantly on the QD-content of the microspheres. The fast decay component could be attributed to the recombination of delocalized exciton in the internal core states, and the slow component was attributed to the localized exciton in the surface states. It was found that the ratio of amplitudes of the fast and slow processes also changed after incorporation of QDs in microspheres. The observed differences in fluorescence decay between non-entrapped QDs and QD-tagged microspheres were probably due to energy transfer between the nanocrystals, which were in close proximity inside the microspheres. The obtained fluorescent QD-tagged microspheres are characterized by the other methods as well, which makes them of value for various applications as optical materials.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to dedicate this work to the memory of Dr. Ceco Dushkin, a coauthor of this article, who largely supported this research. The authors thank COST Action D43 (grant COST-STSM-D43-03506) and projects VUH-09/05 and UNION (DCVP 02/2 – 2009) of the National Science Fund of Bulgaria. The authors also thank Andrea Petrella, Politecnico di Bari, for the SEM images.

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Author notes

  1. Gospodinka Gicheva

    Present address: Department of Chemistry, University of Mining and Geology “St. Ivan Rilski”, Studentski Grad, “Hristo Botev” Str, Sofia, Bulgaria

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Chemistry, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, 1 James Bourchier Blvd, 1164, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Gospodinka Gicheva, Ceco Dushkin & Georgi Yordanov

  2. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Bari and CNR-IPCF (Bari), 4-70125, Bari, Italy

    Gospodinka Gicheva, Anna-Maria Panniello, Michela Corricelli & Angela Agostiano

Authors
  1. Gospodinka Gicheva
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  2. Anna-Maria Panniello
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  3. Michela Corricelli
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  4. Angela Agostiano
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  5. Ceco Dushkin
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  6. Georgi Yordanov
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Correspondence to Georgi Yordanov.

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Gicheva, G., Panniello, AM., Corricelli, M. et al. Radiative exciton recombination dynamics in QD-tagged polystyrene microspheres. J Mater Sci 47, 374–381 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-011-5808-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-011-5808-x

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