Synthesis of pH Sensitive Dual Capped CdTe QDs: Their Optical Properties and Structural Morphology

Olamide Abiodun Daramola, Xavier Siwe Noundou*, Christian Isalomboto Nkanga, Potlaki Foster Tseki, Rui Werner Maçedo Krause

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We herein report five different types of thiol dual capped cadmium tellurite quantum dots (CdTe QDs) namely glutathione-mercapto-propanoic acid (QD 1), glutathione-thiolglycolic acid (QD 2), L-cysteine-mercapto-propanoic acid (QD 3), L-cysteine- thiol-glycolic acid (QD 4) and mercapto-propanoic acid-thiol-glycolic (QD 5). Dual-capped CdTe QDs were prepared using a one pot synthetic method. Cadmium acetate and sodium tellurite were respectively used as cadmium and tellurium precursors. Photo-physical properties of the synthesized QDs were examined using UV-Vis and photoluminescence spectroscopy while structural characterization was performed by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The influence of pH on QD characteristics (fluorescence intensity) was studied using phosphate and citrate buffers and continuous titration with HCl (0.1 N). UV-vis and photoluminescence spectra exhibited sharp absorption band edge with high intensities and improved colloidal stability. All the QDs were found to be in nano-size rang. TEM analysis revealed the presence of spherical nanoparticles while FTIR evidenced successful dual-capping of QDs. Upon pH changes, QDs 3 and 4 demonstrated more remarkable variations in fluorescence intensity than QDs 1 and 2. The pH-sensitivity of these QDs represents a promising feature for further development of potential theranostic nano-devices.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)557-564
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Fluorescence
Volume30
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2020
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Dual-capped CdTe quantum dots
  • Photo-physical properties
  • pH-sensitivity

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