Formation of luminescent spherical core-shell particles by the consecutive adsorption of polyelectrolyte and CdTe(S) nanocrystals on latex colloids

Functional core-shell particles were prepared by assembling a composite multilayer shell of charged polyelectrolytes and luminescent CdTe(S) nanocrystals (cadmium telluride with a certain content of sulfide) via their consecutive electrostatic adsorption from solution onto micron-sized latex particles. The formation of the composite shell has been confirmed by optical spectroscopy, confocal microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Variation of the size and surface chemistry of the semiconductor nanoparticles, the size and shape of the colloid templates, and the nature of the polyelectrolyte opens new avenues for the production of a variety of novel core-shell materials. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.