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Synthesis of highly luminescent and biocompatible CdTe/CdS/ZnS quantum dots using microwave irradiation: a comparative study of different ligands
Author(s) -
He Hua,
Sun Xing,
Wang Xiaojuan,
Xu Hai
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
luminescence
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.428
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1522-7243
pISSN - 1522-7235
DOI - 10.1002/bio.2630
Subject(s) - biocompatible material , quantum dot , cadmium telluride photovoltaics , microwave irradiation , luminescence , materials science , irradiation , microwave , nanotechnology , optoelectronics , photochemistry , chemistry , biomedical engineering , computer science , physics , telecommunications , medicine , nuclear physics
We compared the effects of several ligands frequently used in aqueous synthesis, including L‐cysteine, L‐cysteine hydrochloride, N ‐acetyl‐L‐cysteine (NAC), glutathione and 3‐mercaptopropionic acid, for microwave synthesis of CdTe quantum dots (QDs) in a sealed vessel with varied temperatures and times, and then developed a rapid microwave‐assisted protocol for preparing highly luminescent, photostable and biocompatible CdTe/CdS/ZnS core–multishell QDs. The effects of molecular structures of these ligands on QD synthesis under high temperatures were explored. Among these ligands, NAC was found to be the optimal ligand in terms of the optical properties of resultant QDs and reaction conditions. The emission wavelength of NAC‐capped CdTe QDs could reach 700 nm in 5 min by controlling the reaction temperature, and the resultant CdTe/CdS/ZnS core–multishell QDs could achieve the highest quantum yields up to 74% with robust photostability. In addition, the effects of temperature, growth time and shell–precursor ratio on shell growth were examined. Finally, cell culturing indicated the low cytotoxicity of CdTe/CdS/ZnS core–multishell QDs as compared to CdTe and CdTe/CdS QDs, suggesting their high potential for applications in biomedical imaging and diagnostics. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.