A valuable insight into the versatile synthesis of luminescent quantum rods has been revealed by scientists in Germany. 

Vito Sgobba, Christian Schulz-Drost and Dirk Guldi from the University of Erlangen have used a mixed ligand system to achieve the first known water-soluble CdTe nanorods carrying a positively charged stabiliser. 

The key element of their work is the addition of L-cysteine as a second stabiliser. This led to one-dimensional growth of the nanorods along a particular lattice plane, which the team were able to observe using TEM images. They discovered that after several hours, the rods grouped together in bundle-like structure with diameters up to 180-200nm, and showed remarkable photoluminescent quantum yields. 

'The positive charge that these rods possess emerges as a useful tool for the electrostatic assembling of biomolecules,' said Sgobba. Moreover, these multifunctional nanomaterials show great promise for the construction of photovoltaic devises in the future, he said. 

Jenna Wilson