Excellent photothermal conversion of core/shell CdSe/Bi2Se3 quantum dots

Water-dispersed CdSe/Bi2Se3 core/shell QDs with a photothermal conversion coefficient of 27.09% have been synthesized by a cation exchange reaction. The microstructure and crystal structure of the QDs, which were confirmed by TEM and XRD, showed that partial cation exchange occurred inside the CdSe QDs. Two main mechanisms are responsible for the excellent photothermal conversion: inhibition of radiative recombination of carriers due to the formation of type-II semiconductor heterostructures, and the large surface-to-volume ratio of the QDs. Photothermal conversion experiments indicated that the CdSe/Bi2Se3 QDs showed high photothermal conversion efficiency and excellent NIR photostability.