ABSTRACT
Quantum dots (QDs) are fluorescent semiconductor nanocrystals whose emission peak wavelength is proportional to the size of the crystal. QDs have gained tremendous popularity in recent years for biomedical, alternative energy, and electronics applications. eir popularity was sparked by the development in 1996 of a method of size-selective synthesis: Homogeneous size populations-representing narrow fluorescence emission peaks-could be made directly, without separation steps. A whole range of sizes and colors could be made in a single experiment, thus opening the door to multicolor labeling for all applications. e most common type of QD has a core of cadmium selenide (CdSe) because the band-gap energy of this material makes particle sizes of 2-6 nm span the visible spectrum.
