Hyper-branched CdTe nanostructures based on the self-assembling of quantum dots and their optical properties.

As the priority of interconnects and active components in nanoscale optical and electronic devices, three-dimensional hyper-branched nanostructures came into focus of research. Recently, a novel crystallization route, named as "nonclassical crystallization," has been reported for three-dimensional nanostructuring. In this process, Quantum dots are used as building blocks for the construction of the whole hyper-branched structures instead of ions or single-molecules in conventional crystallization.

Hyperbranched CdTe nanostructures via a self-assembly route: optical properties.

In this work, we report a luminescent nanobundle structure formed by a hierarchical self-assembly process of thioglycolic acid (TGA)-capped CdTe quantum dots (QDs). The luminescence intensity of CdTe nanostructures is high enough to get a clear one-photon excitation confocal image. High contrast two-photon excitation confocal images suggest that the nonlinear properties of pristine QDs are well inherited by the formed CdTe nanostructures.