Experimental study demonstrates enhanced photoluminescence efficiency and 200-day ambient stability in water-soluble ZnSe quantum dots, indicating an effective defect regulation approach.
Water-soluble ZnSe quantum dots (QDs) typically suffer from limited photoluminescence (PL) efficiency and poor long-term stability due to intrinsic defects and surface traps. Here, we report a strategy combining Al3+ doping with stepwise multilayer ZnS shell growth. The stepwise precursor injection ensures uniform shell formation, while Al3+ incorporation suppresses defect-related recombination within the ZnSe core. The resulting ZnSe:Al/ZnS/ZnS/ZnS QDs exhibit a PL quantum yield of 23.24% and an average lifetime of 129.28 ns. They retain 91% of their initial PL intensity after 200 days under ambient conditions. Mechanistic analysis indicates that defect regulation and multilayer shell passivation synergistically promote band-edge radiative recombination over defect-assisted pathways. This work provides a strategy for simultaneously regulating defect states and surface stability in water-soluble semiconductor QDs.
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Li et al. (2026) studied this question.
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