Large-scale synthesis of water-soluble CuInSe2/ZnS and AgInSe2/ZnS core/shell quantum dots

Water-soluble CuInSe2/ZnS (CISe/ZnS) and AgInSe2/ZnS (AISe/ZnS) core/shell quantum dots (QDs) on a multigram scale have been synthesized by using gelatin and thioglycolic acid as dual stabilizers in an electric pressure cooker. The core/shell QDs present composition-tunable emission in the range of 582 nm to 686 nm with a maximum PLQY of 23.3%. The core/shell QDs also exhibit good water/buffer stability. The red-emitting CISe/ZnS QDs are applied as wavelength converters to achieve warm white light-emitting diodes.