Surface oxidation of CdTe nanocrystals—A high resolution core-level photoelectron spectroscopy study

Fluorescent Nanoparticles for Super-Resolution Imaging

Super-resolution imaging techniques that overcome the diffraction limit of light have gained wide popularity for visualizing cellular structures with nanometric resolution. Following the pace of hardware developments, the availability of new fluorescent probes with superior properties is becoming ever more important. In this context, fluorescent nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted increasing attention as bright and photostable probes that address many shortcomings of traditional fluorescent probes. The use of NPs for super-resolution imaging is a recent development and this provides the focus for the current review. We give an overview of different super-resolution methods and discuss their demands on the properties of fluorescent NPs. We then review in detail the features, strengths, and weaknesses of each NP class to support these applications and provide examples from their utilization in various biological systems. Moreover, we provide an outlook on the future of the field and opportunities in material science for the development of probes for multiplexed subcellular imaging with nanometric resolution.

Shell-Dependent Photoluminescence Studies Provide Mechanistic Insights into the Off-Grey-On Transitions of Blinking Quantum Dots

The majority of quantum dot (QD) blinking studies have used a model of switching between two distinct fluorescence intensity levels, "on" and "off". However, a distinct intermediate intensity level has been identified in some recent reports, a so-called "grey" or "dim" state, which has brought this binary model into question. While this grey state has been proposed to result from the formation of a trion, it is still unclear under which conditions it is present in a QD. By performing shell-dependent blinking studies on CdSe QDs, we report that the populations of the grey state and the on state are strongly dependent on both the shell material and its thickness. We found that adding a ZnS shell did not result in a significant population of the grey state. Using ZnSe as the shell material resulted in a slightly higher population of the grey state, although it was still poorly resolved. However, adding a CdS shell resulted in the population of a grey state, which depended strongly on its thickness up to 5 ML. Interestingly, while the frequency of transitions to and from the grey state showed a very strong dependence on CdS shell thickness, the brightness of and the dwell time in the grey state did not. Moreover, we found that the grey state acts as an on-pathway intermediate state between on and off states, with the thickness of the shell determining the transition probability between them. We also identified two types of blinking behavior in QDs, one that showed long-lived but lower intensity on states and another that showed short-lived but brighter on states that also depended on the shell thickness. Intensity-resolved single QD fluorescence lifetime analysis was used to identify the relationship between the various exciton decay pathways and the resulting intensity levels. We used this data to propose a model in which multiple on, grey, and off states exist whose equilibrium populations vary with time that give rise to the various intensity levels of single QDs and which depends on shell composition and thickness.

PbSe-Based Colloidal Core/Shell Heterostructures for Optoelectronic Applications

Lead-based (IV–VI) colloidal quantum dots (QDs) are of widespread scientific and technological interest owing to their size-tunable band-gap energy in the near-infrared optical region. This article reviews the synthesis of PbSe-based heterostructures and their structural and optical investigations at various temperatures. The review focuses on the structures consisting of a PbSe core coated with a PbSe_xS_1–x (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) or CdSe shell. The former-type shells were epitaxially grown on the PbSe core, while the latter-type shells were synthesized using partial cation-exchange. The influence of the QD composition and the ambient conditions, i.e., exposure to oxygen, on the QD optical properties, such as radiative lifetime, Stokes shift, and other temperature-dependent characteristics, was investigated. The study revealed unique properties of core/shell heterostructures of various compositions, which offer the opportunity of fine-tuning the QD electronic structure by changing their architecture. A theoretical model of the QD electronic band structure was developed and correlated with the results of the optical studies. The review also outlines the challenges related to potential applications of colloidal PbSe-based heterostructures.

Tuning of electronic properties in IV-VI colloidal nanostructures by alloy composition and architecture

Colloidal lead chalcogenide (IV-VI) quantum dots and rods are of widespread scientific and technological interest, owing to their size tunable energy band gap at the near-infrared optical regime. This article reviews the development and investigation of IV-VI derivatives, consisting of a core (dot or rod) coated with an epitaxial shell, when either the core or the shell (or both) has an alloy composition, so the entire structure has the chemical formula PbSexS1-x/PbSeyS1-y (0 ≤ x(y) ≤ 1). The article describes synthesis procedures and an examination of the structures' chemical and temperature stability. The investigation of the optical properties revealed information about the quantum yield, radiative lifetime, emission's Stokes shift and electron-phonon interaction, on the variation of composition, core-to-shell division, temperature and environment. The study reflected the unique properties of core-shell heterostructures, offering fine electronic tuning (at a fixed size) by changing their architecture. The optical observations are supported by the electronic band structure theoretical model. The challenges related to potential applications of the colloidal lead chalcogenide quantum dots and rods are also briefly addressed in the article.

Control of the carrier type in InAs nanocrystal films by predeposition incorporation of Cd

Nanocrystal (NC) films have been proposed as an alternative to bulk semiconductors for electronic applications such as solar cells and photodetectors. One outstanding challenge in NC electronics is to robustly control the carrier type to create stable p-n homojunction-based devices. We demonstrate that the postsynthetic addition of Cd to InAs nanocrystals switches the resulting InAs:Cd NC films from n-type to p-type when operating in a field effect transistor. This method presents a stable, facile way to control the carrier type of InAs nanocrystals prior to deposition. We present two mechanisms to explain the observed switch in carrier type. In mechanism 1, Cd atoms are incorporated at In sites in the lattice and act as acceptor defects, forming a partially compensated p-type semiconductor. In mechanism 2, Cd atoms passivate donor-type InAs surface states and create acceptor-type surface states. This work represents a critical step toward the creation of p-n homojunction-based NC electronics.

Similar topological origin of chiral centers in organic and nanoscale inorganic structures: effect of stabilizer chirality on optical isomerism and growth of CdTe nanocrystals

It is observed in this study that the chirality of cysteine stabilizers has a distinct effect on both the growth kinetics and the optical properties of CdTe nanocrystals synthesized in aqueous solution. The effect was studied by circular dichroism spectroscopy, temporal UV-vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and several other microscopy and spectroscopic techniques including atomic modeling. Detailed analysis of the entirety of experimental and theoretical data led to the hypothesis that the atomic origin of chiral sites in nanocrystals is topologically similar to that in organic compounds. Since atoms in CdTe nanocrystals are arranged as tetrahedrons, chirality can occur when all four atomic positions have chemical differences. This can happen in apexes of nanocrystals, which are the most susceptible to chemical modification and substitution. Quantum mechanical calculations reveal that the thermodynamically preferred configuration of CdTe nanocrystals is S type when the stabilizer is D-cysteine and R type when L-cysteine is used as a stabilizer, which correlates well with the experimental kinetics of particle growth. These findings help clarify the nature of chirality in inorganic nanomaterials, the methods of selective production of optical isomers of nanocrystals, the influence of chiral biomolecules on the nanoscale crystallization, and practical perspectives of chiral nanomaterials for optics and medicine.