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Synthesis of highly luminescent CdTe/ZnO core/shell quantum dots in aqueous solution

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Abstract

The synthesis and photoluminescence (PL) properties of aqueous CdTe/ZnO core/shell quantum dots (QDs) have been investigated by using thiolglycolic acid as a capping reagent. The highlighted contribution of the present study was CdTe QDs coated with a ZnO shell by controlling the hydrolysis process of Zn(OAc)2. The QDs benefitted from overcoming the high lattice mismatch between CdTe and ZnO. The PL peak wavelength of the CdTe/ZnO QDs with high PL quantum yields up to 88% was located in a range between 547 and 596 nm by adjusting the size of CdTe cores and the thickness of ZnO shells. The results of X-ray diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy observation indicate that the dot-shaped CdTe/ZnO QDs (566 nm) with an average size of 2.2 nm in diameter belong to the cubic CdTe crystal structure. Due to the passivation of surface defects, it is found that the luminescence decay curves accord with a biexponential decay model of exciton and trap radiation behavior. The average PL lifetimes of CdTe (571 nm) and CdTe/ZnO (596 nm) QDs at room temperature are 27.3 and 35.1 ns, respectively.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported in part by the Program for Taishan Scholars, projects from National Natural Science Foundation of China (21071061), and projects from Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2010EZ001), Outstanding Young Scientists Foundation Grant of Shandong Province (BS2010CL004), and Graduate Student Innovation Foundation of University of Jinan (YCX10018).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Material Science and Engineering, University of Jinan, 250022, Jinan, People’s Republic of China

    Zhimin Yuan, Qian Ma, Aiyu Zhang, Yongqiang Cao, Jie Yang & Ping Yang

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  1. Zhimin Yuan
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  2. Qian Ma
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  3. Aiyu Zhang
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  4. Yongqiang Cao
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  5. Jie Yang
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  6. Ping Yang
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Correspondence to Ping Yang.

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Yuan, Z., Ma, Q., Zhang, A. et al. Synthesis of highly luminescent CdTe/ZnO core/shell quantum dots in aqueous solution. J Mater Sci 47, 3770–3776 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-011-6228-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-011-6228-7

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