Ce-doped YAG nanophosphor and red emitting CuInS2/ZnS core/shell quantum dots for warm white light-emitting diode with high color rendering index.

In this work, we report the solvothermal synthesis of Ce-doped YAG (YAG:Ce) nanoparticles (NPs) and their association with a free-Cd CuInS2/ZnS (CIS/ZnS) core/shell QDs for application into white light emitting diode (WLED). 1500 °C-annealed YAG:Ce NPs and CIS/ZnS core/shell QDs exhibited intense yellow and red emissions band with maxima at 545 and 667 nm, respectively. Both YAG:Ce nanophosphor and CIS/ZnS QDs showed high photoluminescence quantum yield (PL QY) of about 50% upon 460 nm excitation. YAG:Ce nanophosphor layer and bilayered YAG:Ce nanophosphor-CIS/ZnS QDs were applied on blue InGaN chip as converter wavelength to achieve WLED. While YAG:Ce nanophosphor converter layer showed low color rendering index (CRI) and cold white light, bilayered YAG:Ce nanophosphor-CIS/ZnS QDs displayed higher CRI of about 84 and warm white light with a correlated color temperature (CCT) of 2784 K. WLED characteristics were measured as a function of forward current from 20 to 1200 mA. The white light stability of bilayered nanophosphor-QDs-based WLED operated at 200 mA was also studied as a function of operating time up to 40 h. Interestingly, CRI and CCT of such device tend to remain constant after 7 h of operating time suggesting that layer-by-layer structure of YAG:Ce phosphor and red-emitting CIS/ZnS QDs could be a good solution to achieve stable warm WLED, especially when high current density is applied.

Physicochemical properties and cellular toxicity of (poly)aminoalkoxysilanes-functionalized ZnO quantum dots.

Luminescent ZnO nanocrystals were synthesized by basic hydrolysis of Zn(OAc)(2) in the presence of oleic acid and then functionalized with (poly)aminotrimethoxysilanes in the presence of tetramethylammonium hydroxide to render the QDs water-dispersible. The highest photoluminescence quantum yield (17%) was achieved using N(1)-(2-aminoethyl)-N(2)-[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]-1,2-ethanediamine as surface ligand. Transmission electron microscopy and powder x-ray diffraction showed highly crystalline materials with a ZnO nanoparticle diameter of about 4 nm. The cytotoxicity of the different siloxane-capped ZnO QDs towards growing Escherichia coli bacterial cells was evaluated in MOPS-minimal medium. Although concentrations of 5 mM in QDs caused a complete growth arrest in E. coli, siloxane-capped ZnO QDs appeared weakly toxic at lower doses (0.5 or 1 mM). The concentration of bioavailable Zn (2+) ions leaked from ZnO QDs was evaluated using the biosensor bacteria Cupriavidus metallidurans AE1433. The results obtained clearly demonstrate that concentrations of bioavailable Zn(2+) are too low to explain the inhibitory effects of the ZnO QDs against bacteria cells at 1 mM and that the siloxane shell prevents ZnO QDs from dissolution contrary to uncapped ZnO nanoparticles. Because of their low cytotoxicity, good biocompatibility, low cost and large number of functional amine end groups, which makes them easy to tailor for end-user purposes, siloxane-capped ZnO QDs offer a high potential as fluorescent probes and as biosensors.

One-pot noninjection route to CdS quantum dots via hydrothermal synthesis.

Water-dispersible CdS quantum dots (QDs) emitting from 510 to 650 nm were synthesized in a simple one-pot noninjection hydrothermal route using cadmium chloride, thiourea, and 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) as starting materials. All these chemicals were loaded at room temperature in a Teflon sealed tube and the reaction mixture heated at 100 °C. The effects of CdCl(2)/thiourea/MPA feed molar ratios, pH, and concentrations of precursors affecting the growth of the CdS QDs, was monitored via the temporal evolution of the optical properties of the CdS nanocrystals. High concentration of precursors and high MPA/Cd feed molar ratios were found to lead to an increase in the diameter of the resulting CdS nanocrystals and of the trap state emission of the dots. The combination of moderate pH value, low concentration of precursors and slow growth rate plays the crucial role in the good optical properties of the obtained CdS nanocrystals. The highest photoluminescence achieved for CdS@MPA QDs of average size 3.5 nm was 20%. As prepared colloids show rather narrow particle size distribution, although all reactants were mixed at room temperature. CdS@MPA QDs were characterized by UV-vis and photoluminescence spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry and MALDI TOF mass spectrometry. This noninjection one-pot approach features easy handling and large-scale production with excellent synthetic reproducibility. Surface passivation of CdS@MPA cores by a wider bandgap material, ZnS, led to enhanced luminescence intensity. CdS@MPA and CdS/ZnS@MPA QDs exhibit high photochemical stability and hold a good potential to be applied in optoelectronic devices and biological applications.

Water-based route to colloidal Mn-doped ZnSe and core/shell ZnSe/ZnS quantum dots.

Relatively monodisperse and highly luminescent Mn(2+)-doped zinc blende ZnSe nanocrystals were synthesized in aqueous solution at 100 °C using the nucleation-doping strategy. The effects of the experimental conditions and of the ligand on the synthesis of nanocrystals were investigated systematically. It was found that there were significant effects of molar ratio of precursors and heating time on the optical properties of ZnSe:Mn nanocrystals. Using 3-mercaptopropionic acid as capping ligand afforded 3.1 nm wide ZnSe:Mn quantum dots (QDs) with very low surface defect density and which exhibited the Mn(2+)-related orange luminescence. The post-preparative introduction of a ZnS shell at the surface of the Mn(2+)-doped ZnSe QDs improved their photoluminescence properties, resulting in stronger emission. A 2.5-fold increase in photoluminescence quantum yield (from 3.5 to 9%) and of Mn(2+) ion emission lifetime (from 0.62 to 1.39 ms) have been observed after surface passivation. The size and the structure of these QDs were also corroborated by using transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and X-ray powder diffraction.