Incorporating fluorescent quantum dots into water-soluble polymer

The fluorescent quantum dot–polymer composites were fabricated by incorporating thioglycolic acid capped CdTe quantum dots into polyacrylamide via cross-linking agents. The CdTe–polyacrylamide composites were characterized by fluorescence spectrophotometer and fluorescence microscope. The result shows that the quantum dot–polymer composites show strong photoluminescence in aqueous solution. The photoluminescence spectrum of quantum dot–polymer composites exhibits a slight blue shift compared to that of initial CdTe quantum dots. The slight shift might be attributed to the covalently bonding between the carboxyl groups of thiolglycolic acid capped on CdTe quantum dots and the amide groups of the polyacrylamide chains.