Water-soluble, monolayer-protected quantum dots (QDs) were synthesized using several water-soluble thiols and alternative metal salts (e.g., cadmium acetate, zinc sulfate).  QDs were synthesized at temperatures as low as -55 °C in attempts to control the growth of the nanoparticles.  The optical properties of QD solutions were characterized using UV-visible and fluorescence spectroscopies.  The hydrodynamic radius of the QDs was determined using pulsed field gradient (PFG) NMR.  The diffusion coefficient of the nanoparticles, in concert with a small reference molecule, was determined using PFG-NMR.  For reference, the diffusion coefficient of a redox-active molecule was calculated using cyclic voltammetry.  Subsequently, the size of the nanoparticles was calculated using a modified version of the Stokes-Einstein equation.  This work is funded, in part, by the National Science Foundation (CHE-1126231).

Size characterization and alternative synthesis of monolayer-protected quantum dots

249th National Meeting (2015)

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