Mercaptosuccinic acid capped cadmium telluride quantum dots as luminescent thermometer over a wide temperature range of −100 to 60℃

Abstract

Thermal-sensitive photoluminescence (PL) properties of cadmium telluride quantum dots capped with mercaptosuccinic acid (MSA-CdTe QDs) were investigated by collecting QDs’ PL steady-state spectra and decay curves from a cryogenic temperature of −100℃ to 60℃. These QDs display peak wavelength redshift and shorten fluorescence lifetime with the increase of temperature. In situ XRD patterns showed that the QDs’ grain size increases due to thermal expansion induced by the increasement of temperature, which further leads to the redshift of luminescence peak wavelength position. The results prove MSA-CdTe QDs are excellent candidates for luminescence thermometry over a broad temperature range of −100 to 60℃.