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Fabrication and characterization of CdSe/ZnS quantum dots-doped polystyrene microspheres prepared by self-assembly

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Abstract

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs)-doped polystyrene (PS) microspheres with high luminescence were prepared using a self-assembly approach. Hydrophobic CdSe/ZnS QDs were first carboxylized by ligand exchange using mercaptocarboxylic acid. PS microspheres were separately encapsulated with polyethyleneimine via electrostatic interactions and then adsorbed with the carboxyl QDs to form QDs-doped microspheres. We then characterized the combinations using optical, electrical, and mechanical approaches and obtained the following findings: (i) microspheres can be fully coated by QD nanoparticles with a coverage rate of 1.0 pmole/cm2, in which QDs were evenly distributed on the surfaces; (ii) the anchored QDs exhibited similar optical property as they performed in isolated suspension; and (iii) the fluorescence of QDs-doped microspheres remained intact after stressed by ultrasound-induced cavitation, demonstrating the robustness of interactions between QDs and microspheres. The self-assembly approach developed in this study offered a facile and controllable strategy for preparation of QDs-encoded microparticles with high luminescence and stability.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors would like to thank Ceramic Transducer Design Co., Ltd. (Taiwan, Republic of China) for the gift of a PZT transducer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Central University, Taoyuan, 32001, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Yu-Hsiang Lee, Ching-Shiow Tseng & Yen-Lin Wei

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Central University, Taoyuan, 32001, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Ching-Shiow Tseng

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  1. Yu-Hsiang Lee
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  2. Ching-Shiow Tseng
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Correspondence to Yu-Hsiang Lee.

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Supplementary materials can be viewed in this issue of the Journal of Materials Research by visiting http://journals.cambridge.org/jmr.

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Lee, YH., Tseng, CS. & Wei, YL. Fabrication and characterization of CdSe/ZnS quantum dots-doped polystyrene microspheres prepared by self-assembly. Journal of Materials Research 27, 2829–2836 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2012.332

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