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Inside Front Cover: Inkjet Printing of Luminescent CdTe Nanocrystal–Polymer Composites (Adv. Funct. Mater. 1/2007)
Author(s) -
Tekin E.,
Smith P. J.,
Hoeppener S.,
van den Berg A. M. J.,
Susha A. S.,
Rogach A. L.,
Feldmann J.,
Schubert U. S.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.200790004
Subject(s) - materials science , luminescence , cadmium telluride photovoltaics , quantum dot , nanocrystal , polymer , photoluminescence , vinyl alcohol , nanotechnology , ethylene glycol , particle (ecology) , chemical engineering , composite material , optoelectronics , engineering , oceanography , geology
Schubert and co‐workers have performed a detailed investigation on ink‐jet printing of well‐defined dots of luminescent CdTe nanocrystals (NCs) embedded in a poly(vinyl alcohol) matrix, as reported on p. 23, and subsequently made studies of their morphology and photoluminescence. The inside cover shows a photograph of an ink‐jet‐printed combinatorial library of differently sized CdTe NCs emitting at different wavelengths, and a 3D profilometer image of an array of printed dots. Inkjet printing is used to produce well‐defined patterns of dots (with diameters of ca. 120 μm) that are composed of luminescent CdTe nanocrystals (NCs) embedded within a poly(vinylalcohol) (PVA) matrix. Addition of ethylene glycol (1–2 vol %) to the aqueous solution of CdTe NCs suppresses the well‐known ring‐formation effect in inkjet printing leading to exceptionally uniform dots. Atomic force microscopy characterization reveals that in the CdTe NC films the particle–particle interaction could be prevented using inert PVA as a matrix. Combinatorial libraries of CdTe NC–PVA composites with variable NC sizes and polymer/NC ratios are prepared using inkjet printing. These libraries are subsequently characterized using a UV/fluorescence plate reader to determine their luminescent properties. Energy transfer from green‐light‐emitting to red‐light‐emitting CdTe NCs in the composite containing green‐ (2.6 nm diameter) and red‐emitting (3.5 nm diameter) NCs are demonstrated.