Synthesis and characterization of high-quality water-soluble CdTe: Zn2+ quantum dots capped by N-acetyl-L-cysteineviahydrothermal method

Dan Zhao; Yang Fang; Haoyuan Wang; Zhike He

doi:10.1039/C1JM11861G

Synthesis and characterization of high-quality water-soluble CdTe: Zn²⁺quantum dots capped by N-acetyl-l-cysteineviahydrothermal method†

Dan Zhao,^ab Yang Fang,^a Haoyuan Wang^a and Zhike He*^a

* Corresponding authors

^a Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Biology and Medicine (Ministry of Education), College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, P. R. China
E-mail: zhkhe@whu.edu.cn
Fax: +027-68754067

^b College of Pharmacy, South-Central University for Nationalities, Wuhan, P.R. China

Abstract

Novel, water-soluble Zn²⁺ doped CdTe quantum dots (QDs) were prepared through a one-step hydrothermal route. Due to high temperature and high pressure in the hydrothermal route, the addition of Zn ions and employment of a new stabilizer N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), the as-prepared CdTe: Zn²⁺ QDs (emission wavelength at 530–623 nm) exhibit a high quantum yield (up to 75.31%), high doping ratio (the actual constituent ratio reaches 2.41 : 1.00), high stability and excellent biocompitability. The characterization of as-prepared QDs was carried out through fluorescence spectroscopy, UV absorption spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. In particular, for the first time, we realized qualitative, semi-quantitative and quantitative studies on the doping of Zn to CdTe QDs through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electron diffraction spectroscopy and atomic absorption spectrometry. In addition, the relation between the feed ratio of Zn to Cd and the actual constituent ratio of the prepared QDs was also examined.

Supplementary files

Article information

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C1JM11861G
Article type: Paper
Submitted: 28 Apr 2011
Accepted: 09 Jun 2011
First published: 08 Aug 2011

Download Citation

J. Mater. Chem., 2011,21, 13365-13370

Permissions

Request permissions

Synthesis and characterization of high-quality water-soluble CdTe: Zn²⁺ quantum dots capped by N-acetyl-L-cysteineviahydrothermal method

D. Zhao, Y. Fang, H. Wang and Z. He, J. Mater. Chem., 2011, 21, 13365 DOI: 10.1039/C1JM11861G

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Journal of Materials Chemistry