Study on the interaction of CdTe quantum dots with ferulic acid and protocatechuic aldehyde by optical spectroscopy

Luminescent CdTe quantum dots (QDs) were synthesized using thioglycolic acid (TGA) as a stabilizing agent in aqueous medium and were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In weak basic media the fluorescence of TGA–CdTe QDs was quenched notably by ferulic acid (FA) and protocatechuic aldehyde (PA), and the quenching values were proportional to the concentration of the quenchers in a certain range. The addition of bovine serum albumin (BSA) to TGA–CdTe QDs–FA and TGA–CdTe QDs–PA systems rendered a large recovery of the fluorescence of TGA–CdTe QDs.