Thiol-containing microspheres as polymeric ligands for the immobilisation of quantum dots

The first demonstration of the use of functionalised polystyrene beads as polymeric ligands for the immobilisation of quantum dots (QDs) is presented. Specifically, thiol-containing polystyrene microspheres were synthesised and used to incorporate QDs via a swelling/doping strategy. The resultant composite materials were shown to be highly stable against QD leaching in both apolar and polar solvents and retained an identical QD emission profile to non-immobilised QDs. This straightforward approach also allows easy access to controllable and reproducible multiple-QD-containing microspheres.