Aqueous synthesis of mercaptopropionic acid capped Mn2+-doped ZnSe quantum dots

In this paper, Mn2+-doped ZnSe quantum dots (Mn:ZnSe d-dots) are synthesized successfully by a nucleation-doping method in aqueous solution with mercaptopropionic acid as the stabilizer. The optimal precursor ratio and kind of stabilizer for obtaining Mn: ZnSe d-dots with good photoluminescence emission properties was studied in detail. Finally, the photostability of the resulting Mn: ZnSe d-dots was studied and the results showed that Mn: ZnSe d-dots are much more photostable than CdTe quantum dots synthesized in aqueous solution, indicating their potential as a new generation of fluorescent labels for biological assays, imaging of cells and tissues, even in vivo investigations.