Aqueous synthesis of glutathione-capped Cu+ and Ag+-doped ZnxCd1−xS quantum dots with full color emission

Water-soluble Cu+- and Ag+-doped ZnxCd1−xS quantum dots have been successfully synthesized via a facile and green method. All synthetic procedures were conducted in the open air at 95 °C. Hydrophilic glutathione was used as the capping agent. The influence of the dopant concentration in alloyed ZnxCd1−xS QDs has been investigated. The as-prepared Cu+- and Ag+-doped ZnxCd1−xS/ZnS core–shell quantum dots exhibit tunable emission covering the whole visible light region and the photoluminescence quantum yield (PL QY) can reach as high as 20% and 31%, respectively.