Surface charge control of quantum dot blinking

Quinn, S. D. , Rafferty, A., Dick, E., Morten, M. J., Kettles, F. J., Knox, C., Murrie, M. and Magennis, S. W. (2016) Surface charge control of quantum dot blinking. Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 120(34), pp. 19487-19491. (doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.6b07779)

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Abstract

A characteristic property of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs) is their emission intermittency. Although a unifying theory of QD photoprocesses remains elusive, the importance of charged states is clear. We now report a new approach to directly study the role of surface charge on QD emission by adding metal ions to individual, core-only QDs immobilized in aqueous solution in an agarose gel. The CdTe QDs show very stable emission in the absence of metal ions, but a dramatic and reversible increase in blinking due to the presence of trivalent metal ions. Our results support a charge-separation model, in which the major blinking pathway is the surface trapping of electrons; transiently-bound metal ions close to the QD surface enhance this process.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Quinn, Dr Steven and Magennis, Dr Steven and Morten, Dr Michael and Murrie, Professor Mark
Authors: Quinn, S. D., Rafferty, A., Dick, E., Morten, M. J., Kettles, F. J., Knox, C., Murrie, M., and Magennis, S. W.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Chemistry
Journal Name:Journal of Physical Chemistry C
Publisher:American Chemical Society
ISSN:1932-7447
ISSN (Online):1932-7455
Published Online:08 August 2016
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2016 The Authors
First Published:First published in Journal of Physical Chemistry C 120(34):19487-19491
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
647971Speeding and stuttering: analysing the dynamics of DNA replication at the single molecule levelSteven MagennisBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)BB/K001957/1SCHOOL OF CHEMISTRY
657181From nature to nano: structure, dynamics and reactivity of DNA three-way junctionsSteven MagennisEngineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)EP/L027003/1SCHOOL OF CHEMISTRY
555881Atom-by-atom control for the targeted chemical synthesis of heterometallic molecular nanomagnetsMark MurrieEngineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)EP/I027203/1CHEM - CHEMISTRY