High quality CdHgTe nanocrystals with strong near-infrared emission: relationship between composition and cytotoxic effects.

High quality CdHgTe quasi core/shell nanocrystals (NCs) were prepared via the one-step method. The relationship between the composition, structure, and property was systematically investigated by the combination of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission (ICP), and the photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The quantum yield (QY) was ~50% when the feed ratio of Cd(2+) to Hg(2+) was equal to 1. The PL property was further polished, and the QY was improved to ~80% through the variance of the prepared conditions such as the ratio of ligand to metal ion and HTe(-) to metal ion, pH value, and temperature. In addition, the cytotoxic effects of CdHgTe NCs were systematically studied. The results showed that, for Cd0.21Hg0.79Te NCs, its quasi core/shell structure was very stable and little cadmium ions were released. As a result, such NCs showed little cytotoxicity and would find applications in tissue imaging or detection.