Phase Transfer Mediated Self-Assembly of CdTe-Polymer Nanohybrids for Uniform Fluorescent Films

We report an available strategy for fabricating CdTe nanocrystal-polymer nanohybrids by using poly(methylmethacrylate-co-dimethyl diallyl ammonium chloride) (poly(MMA-co-DMDAAC)) as polymer matrix via a phase transfer process. CdTe nanocrystals (NCs) were firstly prepared via the thio-aqueous synthetic approach. Also prepared were the poly(MMA-co-DMDAAC) copolymers via free radical polymerization in organic phase. Then the as-prepared CdTe NCs were completely transferred from water to the chloroform phase under the direction of the poly(MMA-co-DMDAAC) copolymers due to electrostatic interactions between the positively charged amino group of the copolymer and the negatively charged ligand on the surface of NCs, resulting in the formation of CdTe-poly(MMA-co-DMDAAC) nanohybrids. Interestingly, the NC-polymer nanohybrids showed highly enhanced photoluminescence (PL) properties in comparison with that of the parent TGA-stabilized CdTe NCs. The uniform fluorescent films of such NC-polymer nanohybrids were further successfully fabricated to exhibit excellent PL properties and thermal stability, which might be useful in optoelectronic applications.