Photoluminescent Polymer/Quantum Dot Composite\nNanoparticles

Abstract

Core−shell CdS/SiO₂ nanoparticles were prepared and modified with the atom transfer\nradical polymerization (ATRP) initiator 3-(2-bromopropionyloxy)propyl dimethylethoxysilane\n(BIDS). The initiator-modified nanoparticles were then used as macroinitiators for the\npolymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) catalyzed by NiBr₂(PPh₃)₂. These hybrid\npolymer/inorganic nanoparticles could be cast into films that retained the photoluminescence\nof the precursor CdS nanoparticles and showed even dispersal of the CdS/SiO₂ cores\nthroughout the PMMA matrix. These hybrid nanoparticles are versatile structures: their\nfilms can be processed from solution and show uniform dispersion of the inorganic phase\nthroughout the host organic matrix on the microscopic level. These nanoparticles also have\ncomponents whose structures and compositions can be altered to introduce new properties\nto the material (i.e., the luminescence of the inorganic core or the conductivity of the polymer\narms) and to allow for self-assembly of the material (via the structure and composition of\nthe polymer arms).