Preparation and characterization of water-soluble ZnSe:Cu/ZnS core/shell quantum dots

The synthesis and luminescent properties of water-soluble ZnSe:Cu/ZnS core/shell quantum dots (QDs) with different shell thickness are reported in this paper. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) studies present that the ZnSe:Cu/ZnS core/shell QDs with different shell thickness have a cubic zinc-blende structure. The tests of transmission electron microscope (TEM) pictures exhibit that the QDs obtained are spherical-shaped particles and the average grain size increased from 2.7 to 3.8 nm with the growth of ZnS shell. The emission peak position of QDs has a small redshift from 461 to 475 nm with the growth of ZnS shell within the blue spectral window. The photoluminescence (PL) emission intensity and stability of the ZnSe:Cu core d-dots are both enhanced by coating ZnS shell on the surface of core d-dots. The largest PL intensity of the core/shell QDs is almost 3 times larger than that of Cu doped ZnSe quantum dots (ZnSe:Cu d-dots). The redshift of core/shell QDs compared with the core QDs are observed in both the absorption and the photoluminescence excitation spectra.