title: One-pot encapsulation of luminescent quantum dots synthesized in aqueous solution by amphiphilic polymers.
abstract: A simple one-pot polymer encapsulation method is developed for group II-VI semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) synthesized in aqueous solution. The micelles of amphiphilic polymers, such as octadecylamine-modified poly(acrylic acid), capture and encapsulate the QDs when the original hydrophilic ligands, namely 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA), capped on the CdTe/CdS core/shell QDs are partially or fully exchanged by the hydrophobic ligands, 1-dodecanethiol. The molar ratio of the amphiphilic polymer to QDs plays a crucial role in determining the final morphology of the encapsulated structures, including the number of QDs encapsulated in one polymeric micelle. Importantly, the polymer coating significantly improves the optical properties of the QDs, which enhances the photoluminescence quantum yield by about 50%. Furthermore, the photostability of the amphiphilic polymer-coated QDs is much better than that of the synthesized QDs capped with MPA.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Advanced Materials, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Lihui
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yuwen
authors.forename: Biqing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.forename: Ge
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Haoting
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Zhimin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Xingrong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Freddy
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Boey
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Lianhui
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000180:Acrylic Resins / Q000737:chemistry*; D000588:Amines / Q000737:chemistry*; D019187:Cadmium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D049449:Luminescence; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D045663:Quantum Dots; D012996:Solutions; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D013440:Sulfides / Q000737:chemistry; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D013691:Tellurium / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000180:Acrylic Resins; D000588:Amines; D019187:Cadmium Compounds; D011108:Polymers; D012996:Solutions; D013440:Sulfides; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; C034939:cadmium sulfide; C006903:carbopol 940; C009317:stearylamine; D013691:Tellurium; C028337:cadmium telluride