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Characterization of the Dynamics of Photoluminescence Degradation in Aqueous CdTe/CdS Core-Shell Quantum Dots

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Abstract

We investigate the effects of the excitation power on the photoluminescence spectra of aqueous CdTe/CdS core-shell quantum dots. We have focused our efforts on nanoparticles that are drop-cast on a silicon nitride substrate and dried out. Under such conditions, the emission intensity of these nanocrystals decreases exponentially and the emission center wavelength shifts with the time under laser excitation, displaying a behavior that depends on the excitation power. In the low-power regime a blueshift occurs, which we attribute to photo-oxidation of the quantum dot core. The blueshift can be suppressed by performing the measurements in a nitrogen atmosphere. Under high-power excitation the nanoparticles thermally expand and aggregate, and a transition to a redshift regime is then observed in the photoluminescence spectra. No spectral changes are observed for nanocrystals dispersed in the solvent. Our results show a procedure that can be used to determine the optimal conditions for the use of a given set of colloidal quantum dots as light emitters for photonic crystal optical cavities.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support for this work was provided by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG), Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE) and Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Fotônica (INFo). We are grateful to Prof. Beate S. Santos and Prof. Adriana Fontes of research group in Biomedical Nanotechnology (NanoBio) at Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Brazil, for the samples used in this work.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil

    C. G. Pankiewicz, P.-L. de Assis, C. R. Chaves, E. N. D. de Araújo, R. Paniago & P. S. S. Guimarães

  2. DISSE - INCT de Nanodispositivos Semicondutores, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    C. G. Pankiewicz & P. S. S. Guimarães

  3. Departamento de Biofísica e Radiobiologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, 50670-901, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

    P. E. Cabral Filho

  4. INCT em Nanomateriais de Carbono, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    E. N. D. de Araújo

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  1. C. G. Pankiewicz
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Correspondence to C. G. Pankiewicz.

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Pankiewicz, C.G., de Assis, PL., Filho, P.E.C. et al. Characterization of the Dynamics of Photoluminescence Degradation in Aqueous CdTe/CdS Core-Shell Quantum Dots. J Fluoresc 25, 1389–1395 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10895-015-1629-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10895-015-1629-7

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