Inkjet Printing of Luminescent CdTe Nanocrystal–Polymer Composites
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Tekin, Emine; Smith, Patrick J.; Höppener, Stephanie; van den Berg, Antje M. J.; Susha, Andrei S.; Rogach, Andrey L.; Feldmann, Jochen; Schubert, Ulrich S.
- Abstract:
- Inkjet printing is used to produce well-defined patterns of dots (with diameters of ca. 120 lm) that are composed of luminescent
CdTe nanocrystals (NCs) embedded within a poly(vinylalcohol) (PVA) matrix. Addition of ethylene glycol (1–2 vol%) to
the aqueous solution of CdTe NCs suppresses the well-known ring-formation effect in inkjet printing leading to exceptionally
uniform dots. Atomic force microscopy characterization reveals that in the CdTe NC films the particle–particle interaction
could be prevented using inert PVA as a matrix. Combinatorial libraries of CdTe NC–PVA composites with variable NC sizes
and polymer/NC ratios are prepared using inkjet printing. These libraries are subsequently characterized using a UV/fluorescence
plate reader to determine their luminescent properties. Energy transfer from green-light-emitting to red-light-emitting
CdTe NCs in the composite containing green- (2.6 nm diameter) and red-emitting (3.5 nm diameter) NCs are demonstrated.
- Year:
- 2007
- Type of Publication:
- Article
- Journal:
- Advanced Functional Materials
- Volume:
- 17
- Pages:
- 23 - 28