title: Luminescent Colloidal Semiconductor Nanocrystals Containing Copper: Synthesis, Photophysics, and Applications.
abstract: Copper-doped semiconductors are classic phosphor materials that have been used in a variety of applications for many decades. Colloidal copper-doped semiconductor nanocrystals have recently attracted a great deal of interest because they combine the solution processability and spectral tunability of colloidal nanocrystals with the unique photoluminescence properties of copper-doped semiconductor phosphors. Although ternary and quaternary semiconductors containing copper, such as CuInS2 and Cu2ZnSnS4, have been studied primarily in the context of their photovoltaic applications, when synthesized as colloidal nanocrystals, these materials have photoluminescence properties that are remarkably similar to those of copper-doped semiconductor nanocrystals. This review focuses on the luminescent properties of colloidal copper-doped, copper-based, and related copper-containing semiconductor nanocrystals. Fundamental investigations into the luminescence of copper-containing colloidal nanocrystals are reviewed in the context of the well-established luminescence mechanisms of bulk copper-doped semiconductors and copper(I) molecular coordination complexes. The use of colloidal copper-containing nanocrystals in applications that take advantage of their luminescent properties, such as bioimaging, solid-state lighting, and luminescent solar concentrators, is also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington 98195-1700, United States.
authors.forename: Kathryn E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Knowles
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington 98195-1700, United States.
authors.forename: Kimberly H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Hartstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington 98195-1700, United States.
authors.forename: Troy B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Kilburn
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington 98195-1700, United States.
authors.forename: Arianna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marchioro
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington 98195-1700, United States.
authors.forename: Heidi D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington 98195-1700, United States.
authors.forename: Patrick J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Whitham
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington 98195-1700, United States.
authors.forename: Daniel R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Gamelin