Bright White Light Emission from Ultrasmall Cadmium Selenide Nanocrystals...

A simple treatment method using formic
acid has been found to increase the fluorescence quantum
yield of ultrasmall white light-emitting CdSe nanocrystals
from 8% to 45%. Brighter white-light emission occurs with
other carboxylic acids as well, and the magnitude of the
quantum yield enhancement is shown to be dependent on
the alkyl chain length. Additionally, the nanocrystal
luminescence remains enhanced relative to the untreated
nanocrystals over several days. This brightened emission
opens the possibility for even further quantum yield
improvement and potential for use of these white-light
nanocrystals in solid-state lighting applications.