title: Protective ligand shells for luminescent SiO₂-coated alloyed semiconductor nanocrystals.
abstract: SiO2 encapsulation of alloyed CdSeZnS nanocrystals (NCs) shows differences in terms of optical properties and luminescence quantum yield, depending on the surface composition, size, and ligand content. In this work, emphasis has been placed on the fine control required to obtain luminescent SiO2 encapsulated NCs by studying the role of oleic acid (OA), stearic acid (SA), and dodecanethiol (DDT) ligands on the alloyed NCs. While the use of anchored DDT molecules is essential to preserve the optical properties, intercalated OA and SA play a critical role for SiO2 nucleation, as stated by (1)H NMR (including DOSY and NOESY) spectroscopy. These results emphasize the importance of surface chemistry in NCs; it is crucial to control their reactivity, and therefore their impact, in different applications, from optics to biomedicine.
authors.affiliation: †Instituto Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados en Nanociencia (IMDEA-Nanoscience), Cantoblanco 28049, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Acebrón
authors.affiliation: ‡Instituto de Ciencias de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Calle Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Galisteo-López
authors.affiliation: †Instituto Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados en Nanociencia (IMDEA-Nanoscience), Cantoblanco 28049, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Granados
authors.affiliation: †Instituto Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados en Nanociencia (IMDEA-Nanoscience), Cantoblanco 28049, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: López-Ogalla
authors.affiliation: †Instituto Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados en Nanociencia (IMDEA-Nanoscience), Cantoblanco 28049, Madrid, Spain.|‡Instituto de Ciencias de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Calle Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gallego
authors.affiliation: †Instituto Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados en Nanociencia (IMDEA-Nanoscience), Cantoblanco 28049, Madrid, Spain.|∥Departamento de Física de la Materia Condensada and Instituto Nicolás Cabrera, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Otero
authors.affiliation: ‡Instituto de Ciencias de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Calle Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Cefe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: López
authors.affiliation: †Instituto Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados en Nanociencia (IMDEA-Nanoscience), Cantoblanco 28049, Madrid, Spain.|⊥Departamento de Química-Física Aplicada, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Beatriz H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Juárez
mesh_terms: D000497:Alloys / Q000737:chemistry*; D008024:Ligands; D049449:Luminescence; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D045663:Quantum Dots; D012666:Semiconductors; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000497:Alloys; D008024:Ligands; D012822:Silicon Dioxide
keywords: alloyed semiconductor nanocrystals; colloidal quantum dots; luminescence quantum yield; microemulsion; silica encapsulation; surface chemistry