Preparation and Effect of Lighting on Structures and Properties of GSH Capped ZnSe QDs

L-glutathione (GSH) capped ZnSe quantum dots (QDs) were prepared by microwave-assisted aqueous synthesis. Then, the resulting QDs were illuminated under dark, ultraviolet light and incandescent light, respectively. Thereby effect of lighting on the structures and properties of QDs were studied systematically. It was revealed that particle size and element content of QDs took a sharp change after irradiation, while the crystal structure maintains nearly unaffected. Comparing to the ZnSe QDs under dark condition, counterparts irradiated by UV light possessed outstanding sphericity, size distribution and dispersion. And the content of sulfur (S) in ZnSe QDs irradiated by UV light was much higher relatively. The effect of lighting on vibration peaks of O−H was considerable. However, this effect was observed to be weak on other chemical bonds. The possible explanation ascribes to photo-chemical interactions can occur between S−H and O−H bonds on the surface of GSH ligand. The lighting induced GSH to occur photocatalytic oxidation on the surface of ZnSe QDs, which improved the optical properties of QDs. The effects of lighting rely on irradiation types, the sequence is UV light, incandescent light and dark from high to low.