[0003] Quantum dots are characterized by their nanometer size. Quantum dots are excited by light or electricity can emit light of different wavelengths depending on the band gap energy thereof which can be adjusted by varying their sizes and compositions. Hence, quantum dots are widely studied in recent years, and have been applied in various devices, such as light-emitting devices, sensing devices, solar cells, and biomedical devices.
[0004] Although cadmium (Cd)-based quantum dots that are commonly used in the art have advantages, such as high photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQY), being capable of emitting light of all visible wavelengths, and having narrow full width at half maximum (FWHM), Cd element is highly toxic and is a cancer risk factor. Therefore, those skilled in the art dedicate to develop a quantum dot that are free of cadmium and still has a high PLQY. Since conventional group I-III-VI semiconductor quantum dots (e.g., CuInSe2 and AgInS2) have the benefits of being non-toxic, good stability, high extinction coefficients, etc., such semiconductor quantum dots have received widespread attention. However, the conventional group I-III-VI semiconductor quantum dots (e.g., CuInSe2) still have low quantum conversion efficiency.
[0005] In Juan Yang et al., NANO: Brief Reports and Reviews, Vol. 14, No. 6, (2019) 1950070, a low-temperature synthetic scheme is provided to prepare ZnCuInSe/ZnSe quantum dots. Briefly, a precursor solution containing a salt of indium (In), a salt of zinc (Zn), and a salt of copper (Cu) was mixed with a thiol reagent (i.e., 1-dodecanethiol (DDT)) and oleylamine (OAm) to form Cu-In-(S-R)x-(NH2-R)y clusters, followed by swiftly injecting a TOPSe stock solution (selenium (Se) precursor) to replace sulfur (S) of Cu-S and In-S with Se, thereby forming a CuInSe-based core. Afterwards, Zn-doping and ZnSe coating are simultaneously carried out. The as-synthesized ZnCuInSe/ZnSe core-shell quantum dots exhibited enhanced PLQY of 65% at wavelength of 670 nm which can be attributed to the sufficient displacement of In atoms by Zn atoms. In addition, Juan Yang et al. also showed that the ZnCuInSe core of the ZnCuInSe/ZnSe quantum dots have a tetragonal (chalcopyrite-type) crystal structure despite of incorporation of Zn atoms, and zinc (Zn) ions were uniformly distributed in the ZnCuInSe core. |