Article abstract
Nature Materials 7, 659 - 664 (2008)
Published online: 22 June 2008 | doi:10.1038/nmat2222
Subject Categories: Semiconductors | Optical, photonic and optoelectronic materials | Nanoscale materials
Towards non-blinking colloidal quantum dots
Benoit Mahler1, Piernicola Spinicelli2, Stéphanie Buil3, Xavier Quelin3, Jean-Pierre Hermier2,3 & Benoit Dubertret1
Abstract
At a single-molecule level, fluorophore emission intensity fluctuates between bright and dark states. These fluctuations, known as blinking, limit the use of fluorophores in single-molecule experiments. The dark-state duration shows a universal heavy-tailed power-law distribution characterized by the occurrence of long non-emissive periods. Here we have synthesized novel CdSe–CdS core–shell quantum dots with thick crystalline shells, 68% of which do not blink when observed individually at 33 Hz for 5 min. We have established a direct correlation between shell thickness and blinking occurrences. Importantly, the statistics of dark periods that appear at high acquisition rates (1 kHz) are not heavy tailed, in striking contrast with previous observations. Blinking statistics are thus not as universal as thought so far. We anticipate that our results will help to better understand the physico-chemistry of single-fluorophore emission and rationalize the design of other fluorophores that do not blink.
- Laboratoire Photons Et Matière, CNRS UPR5, ESPCI 10 rue Vauquelin, 75231 Paris, France
- Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, CNRS UMR8552, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Ecole normale supérieure, 24 rue Lhomond, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
- Groupe d'Etude de la Matière Condensée, CNRS UMR8635, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, 45 avenue des Etats-Unis, 78035 Versailles Cedex, France
Correspondence to: Jean-Pierre Hermier2,3 e-mail: hermier@physique.uvsq.fr
Correspondence to: Benoit Dubertret1 e-mail: benoit.dubertret@espci.fr
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