Near infrared emitting quantum dots: synthesis, luminescence properties and applications

Near-infrared (NIR) luminescent quantum dots (QDs) have been studied very intensively. These QDs have excellent optical properties. Their emitting wavelength can be adjusted by their size and composition, and falls in the telecommunication window, making these QDs promising materials for telecommunication. NIR light has small background interference and large penetration depth, which make NIR QDs advantageous in bio-imaging applications. This paper reviews the synthesis and optical properties of several representative NIR QDs, including traditional cadmium, mercury, lead, silver, and indium based QDs, as well as I-III-IV ternary QDs. Typical applications of QDs with NIR luminescence properties, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), in biology, luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs), doped glasses/fibers, and optical sensing, are also discussed.