Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 June 2006
Here, we report investigations on the instability in luminescence of bare (trioctylphosphine oxide [TOPO]-stabilized) and CdS-capped CdSe particles under infrared radiation. During thermal annealing under radiation, the formation of oxide layers on the surfaces of the particles create defect states. Consequently, there is a reduction in particle size. These two effects control the light output from the samples. We make a quantitative comparison of the stability of bare CdSe and core-shell-type CdSe-CdS particles during annealing under infrared radiation. Using diffusion theory, we show that the volume of the oxide layer, adhered to the crystallites, plays a dominant role in controlling the luminosity of the particles.