CdSe/TiO2 core-shell nanoparticles produced in AOT reverse micelles: applications in pollutant photodegradation using visible light

Abstract

CdSe quantum dots with a prominent band-edge photoluminescence were obtained by a soft AOT water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsion templating method with an estimated size of 2.7 nm. The CdSe particles were covered with a TiO2 layer using an intermediate SiO2 coupling reagent by a sol-gel process. The resulting CdSe/TiO2 core/shell nanoparticles showed appreciable photocatalytic activity at λ = 405 nm which can only originate because of electron injection from the conduction band of CdSe to that of TiO2.