Effect of template defects in radiative energy relaxation of CdTe nanocrystals in nanotubes of chrysotile asbestos

Regular arrays of parallel nanotubes of chrysotile asbestos have been infilled with CdTe nanocrystals using capillary forces. The radiative recombination of photoexcited electron–hole pairs has been studied using photoluminescence and photoluminescence excitation techniques. The co-existence of two channels of radiative relaxation of photoexcitations generated in the nanocomposite, namely, the recombination in nanocrystals and the recombination in template defects, has been observed. The enhancement of the defect emission in infilled asbestos has been interpreted as a result of trapping the electron–hole pairs from nanocrystals. Selective inhibition of emission from nanocrystals has been observed in nanotubes co-infiltrated with semiconductor and gold nanoparticles.