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. The controllability of the structures and inheritance of the optical properties of the building units make the self-assembled nanostructures new generation materials.