TY - JOUR A1 - Schneider, Ralf A1 - Weigert, Florian A1 - Lesnyak, V. A1 - Leubner, S. A1 - Lorenz, T. A1 - Behnke, Thomas A1 - Dubavik, A. A1 - Joswig, J.-O. A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute A1 - Gaponik, N. A1 - Eychmüller, A. ED - Resch-Genger, Ute ED - Schneider, Ralf T1 - pH and concentration dependence of the optical properties of thiol-capped CdTe nanocrystals in water and D2O N2 - The optical properties of semiconductor nanocrystals (SC NCs) are largely controlled by their size and surface chemistry, i.e., the chemical composition and thickness of inorganic passivation shells and the chemical nature and number of surface ligands as well as the strength of their bonds to surface atoms. The latter is particularly important for CdTe NCs, which – together with alloyed CdₓHg₁₋ₓTe – are the only SC NCs that can be prepared in water in high quality without the need for an additional inorganic passivation shell. Aiming at a better understanding of the role of stabilizing ligands for the control of the application-relevant fluorescence features of SC NCs, we assessed the influence of two of the most commonly used monodentate thiol ligands, thioglycolic acid (TGA) and mercaptopropionic acid (MPA), on the colloidal stability, photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield (QY), and PL decay behavior of a set of CdTe NC colloids. As an indirect measure for the strength of the coordinative bond of the ligands to SC NC surface atoms, the influence of the pH (pD) and the concentration on the PL properties of these colloids was examined in water and D₂O and compared to the results from previous dilution studies with a set of thiol-capped Cd₁₋ₓHgₓTe SC NCs in D₂O. As a prerequisite for these studies, the number of surface ligands was determined photometrically at different steps of purification after SC NC synthesis with Ellman’s test. Our results demonstrate ligand control of the pH-dependent PL of these SC NCs, with MPA-stabilized CdTe NCs being less prone to luminescence quenching than TGA-capped ones. For both types of CdTe colloids, ligand desorption is more pronounced in H₂O compared to D₂O, underlining also the role of hydrogen bonding and solvent molecules. KW - Quantum dots KW - Fluorescence KW - Ligand analysis KW - Nano particles PY - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-371253 VL - 18 IS - 28 SP - 19083 EP - 19092 PB - RSC CY - Cambridge AN - OPUS4-37125 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Meiling, T. A1 - Cywinski, P. A1 - Bald, Ilko T1 - White carbon: Fluorescent carbon nanoparticles with tunable quantum yield in a reproducible green synthesis N2 - In this study, a new reliable, economic, and environmentally-friendly one-step synthesis is established to obtain carbon nanodots (CNDs) with well-defined and reproducible photoluminescence (PL) properties via the microwave-assisted hydrothermal treatment of starch and Tris-acetate-EDTA (TAE) buffer as carbon sources. Three kinds of CNDs are prepared using different sets of above mentioned starting materials. The as-synthesized CNDs: C-CND (starch only), N-CND 1 (starch in TAE) and N-CND 2 (TAE only) exhibit highly homogenous PL and are ready to use without need for further purification. The CNDs are stable over a long period of time (>1 year) either in solution or as freeze-dried powder. Depending on starting material, CNDs with PL quantum yield (PLQY) ranging from less than 1% up to 28% are obtained. The influence of the precursor concentration, reaction time and type of additives on the optical properties (UV-Vis absorption, PL emission spectrum and PLQY) is carefully investigated, providing insight into the chemical processes that occur during CND formation. Remarkably, upon freeze-drying the initially brown CND-solution turns into a non-fluorescent white/slightly Brown powder which recovers PL in aqueous solution and can potentially be applied as fluorescent marker in bio-imaging, as a reduction agent or as a photocatalyst. KW - Carbon dots KW - Quantum yield KW - Fluorescence KW - Nanoparticles PY - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-367204 VL - 6 SP - Article 28557, 1 EP - 9 PB - Nature Publishing Group AN - OPUS4-36720 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -