Fabrication of visible-light sensitized ZnTe/ZnSe (Core/Shell) type-II quantum dots

Abstract

Colloidal semiconductor quantum dots (QDs), because of the novel optical and electrical properties that stem from their three-dimensional confinement, have attracted great interest for their potential applications in such fields as bio-imaging, display, and opto-electronics. However, many semiconductors that can be exploited for QD applications contain toxic elements. Herein, we synthesized non-toxic ZnTe/ZnSe (core/shell) type-II QDs by pyrolysis method. Because of the unique type-II character of these QDs, their emission can range over an extended wavelength regime, showing photoluminescence (PL) from 450 nm to 580 nm. By optimizing the ZnSe shell growth condition, resulting ZnTe/ZnSe type-II QDs shows PL quantum yield up to ~ 25% with 35 nm PL bandwidth. Using a simple two step cation exchange reaction, we also fabricated ZnTe/ZnSe type-II QDs with absorption extended over the whole visible region. The visible-light sensitized heavy metal free ZnTe/ZnSe type-II QDs can be relevant for opto-electronic applications such as displays, light emitting diodes, and bio-imaging probes.