Preparation of photostable quantum dot-polystyrene microbeads through covalent organosilane coupling of CdSe@Zns quantum dots

Abstract

We report preparation of highly photoluminescent CdSe@ZnS quantum dot-polystyrene composite beads, by employing stepwisely: (1) a simultaneous ZnS shell formation and ligand exchange with 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxy silane (MPS); (2) coupling MPS with polymerizable 3-(trimethoxysily)propylmethacrylate (MPM); and (3) polymerization of the resulting MPM-MPS capped CdSe@ZnS quantum dots with styrene molecules. The functionalized quantum dots exhibited robust chemical stability against the harsh radical polymerization condition and the resulting polymer microbeads were strong against photobleaching under an intense and continuous laser.[Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.