Open AccessForcespinning fabrication of CdTe-quantum dot/polylactic acid microfibers for novel surface-engineered application
Author(s) -
Héctor Manuel Leija Gutiérrez,
Francisco Solís-Pomar,
C. D. Gutiérrez-Lazos,
M A Ruíz-Robles,
Génesis V. Buitimea-Cantúa,
Kévin Sanchez,
Alex Elı́as-Zúñiga,
Manuel Meléndrez,
E. PérezTijerina
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
materials research express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2053-1591
DOI - 10.1088/2053-1591/ac2403
Subject(s) - microfiber , materials science , polylactic acid , quantum dot , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , luminescence , photoluminescence , nanofiber , scanning electron microscope , transmission electron microscopy , fibroin , cadmium telluride photovoltaics , electrospinning , fluorescence , fiber , nanotechnology , chemical engineering , optoelectronics , composite material , optics , silk , polymer , physics , engineering
The aim of this work was to prepare and characterize color-tunable luminescent nanocomposite fibers composed of CdTe quantum dots (CdTe-QDs) and polylactic acid (PLA) via nanoprecipitation. This method provides a simple procedure to incorporate QDs with various emission wavelengths onto nanofibers’ surfaces. A one-pot microwave irradiation method was employed to prepare green- to red-emitting 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA)-capped CdTe-QDs with high luminescence. Microfiber PLA membranes were produced via forcespinning. These nanofibers can integrate the luminescent properties of CdTe-QDs and extend their advantages to fiber-based structures. Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV–vis) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to characterize the CdTe-QDs. TEM images revealed that the CdTe-QDs were 4 nm in size. The CdTe-QDs’ effect on the microfibers were characterized morphologically via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which showed that the average diameter of the CdTe-QDs/PLA nanofibers was 3.5 μ m. They were optically analyzed by photoluminescence (PL), absorption spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and confocal fluorescence microscopy. FTIR revealed strong interactions between the MAP stabilizing agents and PLA fibers. These preliminary results demonstrate that these microfibers have potential for biological labeling and diagnostics based on their properties.