One-step growth of high luminescence CdTe quantum dots with low cytotoxicity in ambient atmospheric conditions

A simple, rapid, cost-efficient and convenient method has been developed for synthesis of water-soluble CdTe quantum dots (QDs) under ambient atmospheric conditions. Using this method, the preparation of Te precursor and growth of CdTe QDs were achieved with one-step synthetic route. Under the optimal conditions, the as-prepared CdTe QDs possessed a high photoluminescence quantum yield (84%), a narrow size distribution (full width at half maximum = 30 nm), small particle size (2.6 nm) and low cytotoxicity. The photoluminescence and electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) behaviors of as-prepared CdTe QDs show their potential application in cell imaging and ECL biosensing with high sensitivity.