Photoluminescence enhancement of colloidal CdSe/ZnS quantum dots embedded in polyvinyl alcohol after 2 MeV proton irradiation: crucial role of the embedding medium

Abstract The growing interest on the use of colloidal Quantum Dots (QDs) in scintillation and dosimetry applications in comparison with organic fluorophores relies in their narrower and tunable photoluminescence (PL) emission, easier chemical processability and higher cross-section for ionizing radiation. In this context, a deep understanding of the role of the embedding medium on the QD optical properties in unirradiated and irradiated samples represents an important issue. In this paper, we present the optical characterization of colloidal core-shell CdSe/ZnS QDs embedded in polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) and irradiated with 2 MeV protons at different fluences. The characterization of the samples, performed by both steady-state and time-resolved PL measurements, indicates a damage of the QDs at the lowest fluence (1013 H+cm−2), demonstrated by a quenching of the QD PL intensity and by a shortening of the QD lifetime. At the middle fluence (5 × 1013 H+cm−2) a partial recovering of the QD optical properties are observed, due to energy transfer phenomena between radiation-induced PL defects in the PVOH, acting as donors, and the QDs, acting as acceptors. The higher concentration of PVOH PL defects in the most irradiated sample (1014 H+cm−2) led to an enhancement of the QD PL intensity in comparison with the unirradiated sample, highlighting the crucial role of the embedding medium in the post-irradiation QD optical response.