Synthesis of Tunable, Highly Luminescent QD-Glasses Through Sol-Gel Processing

Photostable quantum dot (QD)-glasses for use in optical devices can be prepared by solution-phase synthesis of the luminescent material followed by sol-gel processing, to embed the semiconductor particles in silica. Prevention of surface reactions that slowly quench the luminescence and degrade the QD is a key problem of their production. A solution to this was found in octylamine, which, when added during the sol-gel processing, not only passivates the surface of the QD but also accelerates the gelation process. CdSe QDs capped with ZnS thus treated remain luminescent over several months.