Amphoteric CdSe nanocrystalline quantum dots

The nanocrystal quantum dot (NQD) charge states strongly influence their electrical transport properties in photovoltaic and electroluminescent devices, optical gains in NQD lasers, and the stability of the dots in thin films. We report a unique electrostatic nature of CdSe NQDs, studied by electrophoretic methods. When we submerged a pair of metal electrodes, in a parallel plate capacitor configuration, into a dilute solution of CdSe NQDs in hexane, and applied a DC voltage across the pair, thin films of CdSe NQDs were deposited on both the positive and the negative electrodes. Extensive characterizations including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared ( FTIR) and Raman studies revealed that the films on both the positive and the negative electrodes were identical in every respect, clearly indicating that: ( 1) a fraction (< 1%) of the CdSe NQDs in free form in hexane solution are charged and, more importantly, ( 2) there are equal numbers of positive and negative CdSe NQDs in the hexane solution. Experiments also show that the number of deposited dots is at least an order of magnitude higher than the number of initially charged dots, indicating regeneration. We used simple thermodynamics to explain such amphoteric nature and the charging/regeneration of the CdSe NQDs.