Graded-Alloy Semiconductor Nanocrystals

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Professor Todd D. Krauss of the University of Rochester is supported by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular, and Nanochemistry (MSN) Program in the Division of Chemistry to synthesize graded core-shell CdZnSe/ZnSe quantum dots (QDs) and to characterize their structural and photophysical properties using a suite of analytical spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. It is expected that the photoluminescence (PL) blinking of individual quantum dots will be mitigated through the synthesis of QD structures having smooth potential energy variations across the QD. Such a QD structure is expected to reduce non-radiative Auger-type processes, which are believed to be a leading cause of PL blinking.Despite over a decade of research, the root cause of an intermittent "blinking" of the photoluminescence of semiconductor QDs remains elusive. The overarching goal of this research is to understand fundamental causes of the blinking phenomenon, which will eventually lead to the mitigation of blinking altogether. Blinking severely limits the usefulness of QDs in applications that require the continuous output of single photons. For example, new cures for disease may be eventually discovered through the significant advances in single-protein fluorescent labeling and tracking enabled by non-blinking QDs. The proposed research also provides for the education and training of the next generation of physical chemists, inclusive of women and underrepresented minorities. The accomplishments of women graduate students and postdocs in chemistry will be highlighted on a specifically created website at the University of Rochester.