Direct observation of resonant energy transfer between quantum dots of two different sizes in a single water droplet

Abstract

Water soluble CdTe nanocrystals (NCs) of two different sizes capped by thioglycolic acid were synthesized and were dispersed in pure water. We have observed that the emission color of CdTe NCs has been changed in a single droplet of water during the evaporation of the solvent. This is attributed to Förster resonance energy transfer between CdTe NCs, when their concentration becomes high enough to ensure close proximity. By combining our results of photoluminescence with quantitative analysis we conclude that the coupling between different sized CdTe NCs via long-range dipole-dipole interactions was enhanced in aqueous solution due to Brownian motion.