中国物理B ›› 2015, Vol. 24 ›› Issue (7): 78202-078202.doi: 10.1088/1674-1056/24/7/078202

• INTERDISCIPLINARY PHYSICS AND RELATED AREAS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY • 上一篇    下一篇

Redox-mediated reversible modulation of the photoluminescence of single quantum dots

李颖a, 刘仁威a b, 马丽a, 范苏娜a b, 李辉a, 胡书新a, 李明a   

  1. a Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics and Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Soft Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China;
    b College of Materials Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130023, China
  • 收稿日期:2015-05-04 修回日期:2015-05-11 出版日期:2015-07-05 发布日期:2015-07-05
  • 基金资助:
    Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 10904164, 61275192, and 11104328).

Redox-mediated reversible modulation of the photoluminescence of single quantum dots

Li Ying (李颖)a, Liu Ren-Wei (刘仁威)a b, Ma Li (马丽)a, Fan Su-Na (范苏娜)a b, Li Hui (李辉)a, Hu Shu-Xin (胡书新)a, Li Ming (李明)a   

  1. a Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics and Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Soft Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China;
    b College of Materials Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130023, China
  • Received:2015-05-04 Revised:2015-05-11 Online:2015-07-05 Published:2015-07-05
  • Contact: Hu Shu-Xin E-mail:hushuxin@iphy.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 10904164, 61275192, and 11104328).

摘要: Precise control over the photoluminescence (PL) of single quantum dots (QDs) is important for their practical applications. We show that the PL of individual CdSe/ZnS core/shell QDs can be effectively enhanced and continuously modulated by electrochemically manipulating the electron transfer (ET) between the QDs and the attached redox-active ligands such as 2-mercaptoethanol (BME). We found that i) the ET from BME to the QDs' surface trap states suppresses the blinking of the QDs, ii) the ET from the QDs' conduction band to the oxidization product results in dimmed PL when BME is oxidized, and iii) further oxidization of BME results in a significant PL brightening. The single particle measurements help us unveil the important features hidden in ensemble measurements and understand the underlying mechanism of the PL modulation. The results also suggest a simple yet efficient method to produce bright and non-blinking QDs and offer opportunities for further development of high resolution fluorescent bioimaging and nanodevices.

关键词: quantum dots, photoluminescence modulation, redox, electron transfer

Abstract: Precise control over the photoluminescence (PL) of single quantum dots (QDs) is important for their practical applications. We show that the PL of individual CdSe/ZnS core/shell QDs can be effectively enhanced and continuously modulated by electrochemically manipulating the electron transfer (ET) between the QDs and the attached redox-active ligands such as 2-mercaptoethanol (BME). We found that i) the ET from BME to the QDs' surface trap states suppresses the blinking of the QDs, ii) the ET from the QDs' conduction band to the oxidization product results in dimmed PL when BME is oxidized, and iii) further oxidization of BME results in a significant PL brightening. The single particle measurements help us unveil the important features hidden in ensemble measurements and understand the underlying mechanism of the PL modulation. The results also suggest a simple yet efficient method to produce bright and non-blinking QDs and offer opportunities for further development of high resolution fluorescent bioimaging and nanodevices.

Key words: quantum dots, photoluminescence modulation, redox, electron transfer

中图分类号:  (Single molecule photochemistry)

  • 82.37.Vb
73.21.La (Quantum dots) 34.70.+e (Charge transfer) 92.20.cj (Oxidation and reduction reactions)