Preparation of silicon quantum dots@star like bloc-copolymer (SiQD@S-BP) colloidal nanoclusters through in-situ reduction and confined growth

Abstract

Here in this work, colloidal nanocrystal clusters (CNCs) formed by silicon quantum dots and star-like block-copolymers (SiQDs@S-BP) were prepared through in-situ reduction and confined growth method. Water-soluble star-like block copolymer β-CD-g-PAA-b-POEGA (unimolecular micelle) was precisely synthesized through ATRP and used as the templates for SiQDs@S-BP. Owing to the electrostatic interaction, the amino groups functionalized silicon can be adsorbed to the carboxyl groups in the polymer chains. After in-situ reduction and confined growth, silicon quantum dots were formed and monodispersed in the unimolecular micelles. Benefitting from the CNCs structure, the fluorescence emission of the SiQDs enhanced due to the aggregation induced emission enhancement (AIEE) effect. The inner structure and outer polymer brushes of the CNCs avoided the coalescence of SiQDs during application and collection, and made it more efficient in recycling and reusing.