Preparation and Incorporation of Luminescent Nanocrystals into Polymer Composites

Due to quantum confinement effect, inorganic nanocrystals(NCs) show unique size|dependent optical, electronic, and magnetic properties. However, NCs are usually in the form of colloidal solution or solid powder. For practical applications, moreover, it is required to incorporate these unstable NCs into inert matrix, such as polymer. In this context, polymer has a good compatibility with many materials, and can be easily molded to various shapes. Besides, some polymers inherently have stimulus-responsive properties, which are potentially used to tailor NC properties. Consequently, incorporation of NCs into polymers will bring many advantages, including the improvement of NC stability, combination of multiple functionalities in one system, and even modulation of NC properties in polymer matrix. In this review article, the methods of fabricating NC-polymer composites are systematically summarized with the aim to achieve new generation of composite materials.