Photopatternable cadmium-free quantum dots with ene-functionalization

Photopatternable nanoparticles can be easily dispersed into polymeric matrices and used to fabricate optoelectronic devices for display, sensing and quantum information processing applications. Here we report the first instance of a cadmium-free photopatternable quantum dot. A ligand containing dithiolane group at one end and an ene-functionalization at the other end were synthesized for this purpose. The myristic acid ligands on as synthesized red indium zinc phosphide-zinc sulfide (In(Zn)P/ZnS) quantum dots were easily replaced by the newly developed ligand by a simple sonication procedure. The functionalized quantum dots could be easily incorporated into a commercially available photoresist. The quantum dot doped photoresist was used to fabricate three-dimensional quantum dot doped hierarchical microstructures by two-photon lithography. Confocal imaging microscopy was used to verify the uniform incorporation of the nanoparticles in the hybrid microstructure.