Plasma electrochemical synthesis of silicon quantum dots

Abstract

Environmentally friendly and fast synthesis of silicon quantum dots (SiQDs) is realized with the assistance of plasma. The precursors used are N-(β-Aminoethyl)-γ-aminopropyl trimethoxysilane (DAMO) and citric acid. When the excitation wavelength was 370 nm, the photoluminescence (PL) emission peak of the SiQDs appeared at 452.5 nm. The optimization of precursor concentration, reaction time and other parameters can effectively improve the quantum yield (QY) of SiQDs. The results show that the amidation and condensation of DAMO and citric acid plays an important role in the improvement of QY, as this means that more fluorescent molecules are produced and therefore QY is increased. This paper increases QY from 4.23% to 23.9%, providing a promising way to improve QY even more.