Aqueous synthesis of high quality multicolor Cu-Zn-In-S quantum dots

In this work, we developed an aqueous synthetic strategy for a new kind of hydrophilic multicolor Cu-Zn-In-S quantum dots (CIZS QDs). The CIZS QDs possessed not only the good water solubility but also additional superiority such as low toxicity and good chemical stability. The synthesis conditions of high quality CIZS QDs with tunable fluorescence color, including precursor ratio, reaction time, and temperature, have been studied deeply. As a result, the photoluminescence (PL) emission peaks of the CIZS QDs can be controlled from 450 nm to 664 nm based on the different ratio of In: Zn. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first report about the synthesis of multicolor hydrophilic CIZS QDs. The fast-speed growth and good photo stability of multicolor CIZS QDs showed that this proposed facile aqueous synthetic route had largely improved chemical optical performance of CIZS QDs, which had potential in chemo/biosensing and bioimaging.