Issue 27, 2019

Sacrificial oxidation of a self-metal source for the rapid growth of metal oxides on quantum dots towards improving photostability

Abstract

Growth of metal oxide layers on quantum dots (QDs) has been regarded as a good way to improve the photostability of QDs. However, direct growth of metal oxides on individual QD remains a great challenge. Here we report a novel approach to rapidly anchor metal oxides on QD surfaces through a sacrificial oxidation of a self-metal source strategy. As typical core/shell QDs, CdSe/CdS or aluminum doped CdSe/CdS (CdSe/CdS:Al) QDs were chosen and treated with peroxide (benzoyl peroxide). Self-metal sources (cadmium or/and aluminum) can be easily sacrificially oxidized, leading to the quick growth of cadmium oxide (CdO) or aluminum/cadmium hybrid oxides (Al2O3/CdO) on the surface of individual QD for improved photostability. Compared with CdO, Al2O3 possesses excellent barrier properties against moisture and oxygen. Therefore, CdSe/CdS QDs with the protection of an Al2O3/CdO hybrid layer show much superior photostability. Under strong illumination with blue light, the QDs coated with the Al2O3/CdO hybrid layer retained 100% of the original photoluminescence intensity after 70 h, while that of the untreated CdSe/CdS:Al, the treated CdSe/CdS and the CdSe/CdS QDs dropped to 65%, 45%, and 5%, respectively. Furthermore, we demonstrate that this method can be extended to other metal-doped QD systems, even including some inactive metals difficult to be oxidized spontaneously in an ambient atmosphere, which provides a new way to stabilize QDs for diverse optoelectronic applications.

Graphical abstract: Sacrificial oxidation of a self-metal source for the rapid growth of metal oxides on quantum dots towards improving photostability

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
13 Mar 2019
Accepted
28 May 2019
First published
30 May 2019
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2019,10, 6683-6688

Sacrificial oxidation of a self-metal source for the rapid growth of metal oxides on quantum dots towards improving photostability

L. Huang, Z. Li, C. Zhang, L. Kong, B. Wang, S. Huang, V. Sharma, H. Ma, Q. Yuan, Y. Liu, G. Shen, K. Wu and L. Li, Chem. Sci., 2019, 10, 6683 DOI: 10.1039/C9SC01233H

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