Døssing Group

Research

The tunability of the optical properties of the semiconductor nanoparticles CdSe quantum dots (CDs) has resulted in a wide use of these species as antennas for light harvesting and photosensitization. Preliminary studies of the optical properties CdSe CDs where the lanthanoide ions Eu³⁺ or Tb³⁺ have been incorporated in the lattice have shown that a lanthanoide-centered VIS-emission can be achieved through excitation of the CdSe host. As a continuation we will investigate the optical properties CDs doped with the NIR-emitting metal ions Nd³⁺, Er³⁺, and Yb³⁺.

Projects

Certain very small particles made of a material called CdSe can absorb and respond to light in ways that can be tuned or adjusted. Because of this, they are widely used to capture light and transfer its energy to other systems.

Earlier studies have shown that if specific metal ions (such as europium or terbium) are built into these particles, the particles can emit visible light when they are excited. In other words, the CdSe material can absorb light and then pass the energy on to these metal ions, which then glow.

In this project, we will continue this work by studying similar particles that contain other metal ions (neodymium, erbium, and ytterbium). These ions emit light in the near-infrared range, which is invisible to the human eye but useful for many technologies.