Poly(methylmethacrylate) coating on quantum dot surfaces via photo-chemical reaction for defect passivation

Abstract

An effective poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) coating process via photo-chemical reaction for quantum dots (QDs) was investigated. Various concentrations of PMMA were tested and the optimal concentration was confirmed to be 0.1 mM. The quantum yield (QY%) of the 0.1 mM PMMA-coated sample showed a 27% increase in efficiency relative to the as-synthesized CdSe/ZnS QDs due to the passivation of defect states on the surface. The QY% enhanced by PMMA was further increased by light irradiation because of the strong interactions and bonding between the surface atoms and functional groups of PMMA (acrylic groups). The excitation and formation of electron-hole pairs generated by light irradiation lead to strong interactions and chemical bonding on the surface; this is applicable to other cadmium QDs. When the QDs were passivated by a photo-chemical method, the QY% increased by approximately 20% for CdSe, CdSe/ZnS, and CdSe/ZnSe QDs. In order to evaluate the long-term stability depending on the PMMA coating, the QDs were stored for 12 months. The efficiency of as-synthesized bare QDs, initially 90%, drastically decreased to 17% after 12 months, but the PMMA-coated QDs with our coating method maintained a high efficiency of over 75%.