Highly luminescent and quantum-yielding CdSe/ZnS core/shell quantum dots synthesized by a kinetically controlled succession route in 18DMA.

Highly luminescent and quantum-yielding (QY) CdSe/ZnS core/shell quantum dots (CS QDs) were synthesised via a new succession route in a non-toxic solvent, N,N-Dimethyl-octadecyl-tertiary-amine(18DMA) at a mild temperature. The CS QDs were also proven to be as efficient in reaching high quantum yields (up to 74%) as their reported high-temperature synthesis with organic phosphine ligands. It was demonstrated that the synthesis temperatures directly determine the size by controlling the rate of the monomer diffusion and adsorption. It was also found that the amount of surfactant oleic acid determined the QY of the QDs, whereas it had little influence on the crystallisation.