Quantum dots in a metallopolymer host: studies of composites of polyferrocenes and CdSe nanocrystals

The photoluminescence (PL) of composite materials based on ferrocene-based organometallic polymers and CdSe nanocrystals (nc-CdSe) has been investigated in solution and in thin films. The polymers studied, poly(ferrocenylmethylphenylsilane) (PFMPS), poly(ferrocenylphenylphosphine) (PFP), and poly(ferrocenylphenylphosphine sulfide) (PFP-S), all quench the PL of the nc-CdSe. In solution, the relative quenching effects are solvent dependent, and are in the order PFMPS < PFP in toluene but in the order PFP < PFP-S < PFMPS in THF. Stern–Volmer analysis is consistent with coordination of PFP to the nc-CdSe. In the thin films, the relative quenching strength of the polymers is PFMPS ∼ PFP-S < PFP. Photoinduced absorption spectroscopy was employed to study the nature of the PL quenching.