Blinking suppression and intensity recurrences in single CdSe-oligo(phenylene vinylene) nanostructures: experiment and kinetic model

We report time-resolved single molecule fluorescence imaging of individual CdSe quantum dots that are functionalized with oligomeric conjugated organic ligands. The fluorescence intensity trajectories from these composite nanostructures display both a strong degree of blinking suppression and intensity fluctuations with characteristic recurrence times on the order of 10‐60 s. In addition, fluorescence decay rate measurements of individual hybrid nanostructures indicate significantly modified non-radiative quantum dot decay rates relative to conventional ZnS-capped CdSe quantum dots. We show that a modified diffusive reaction coordinate model with slow fluctuations in quantum dot electron energies (1Se ,1 P e) can reproduce the experimentally observed behaviour. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)