Synthesis and photoluminescence of semiconductor quantum dots/cetyltrimethylammonium bromide vesicle core/shell nanostructures

Abstract The synthesis and photoluminescence properties of the SiC quantum dots (QDs)/cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) multilayered vesicle core/shell nanostructures are reported. The Coulomb attraction force between the negatively charged surface of the QD and the positively charged ionized CTAB molecules drives the formation of the core/shell nanostructures. The outer CTAB molecules are demonstrated to form multilayered vesicles. The core/shell nanostructures exhibit strong near-UV photoluminescence which is supposed to stem from the outer CTAB vesicles. This novel semiconductor QD/vesicle core/shell structures can serve as a prototype for studying the QD–organic molecule interaction as well as the building block for constructing nanoscale devices.