Assembly and composite of CdTe nanocrystals and cationic copolymers

Abstract

CdTe nanocrystals have been synthesised with thioglycolic acid as a stabiliser in the aqueous phase. The fluorescence multilayer films of CdTe nanocrystals and cationic copolymers were prepared by layer by layer electrostatic self‐assembly. The multilayer films were characterised using fluorescence spectra, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. The fluorescence intensity of multilayer films was enhanced with the increase in the content of 2‐trimethylammonium ethyl methacrylate chloride in the cationic copolymers. At the same time, a red shift of the corresponding fluorescence emission peak of the multilayer films was suggestive of the increment of the electrostatic force. The surface morphology of the CdTe/cationic polyacrylamide multilayer films was observed by atomic force microscopy. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy provided evidence for the presence of CdTe nanocrystals in the multilayer films. A laser diffraction grain size analyser revealed that the size of CdTe nanocrystals increased with the addition of cationic copolymers.