Facile one-pot synthesis of water-soluble β-cyclodextrin coated CdTe quantum dots

Here, the direct synthesis β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) coated water-soluble CdTe quantum dots (QDs) by using a new ‘one pot’ method is reported. Cd(Ac)2, NaHTe, oleic acid and β-CD were used as precursors in the water–oil two phase system. The obtained CdTe QDs were characterized by luminescence spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy, fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and confocal fluorescence images. The quantum yield(QY) of the water-soluble CdTe QDs were about 27%. Whether over a wide range of pH values or at high ionic strengths, their optical density remained constant. The obtained QDs aqueous solution are very stable under ambient atmosphere conditions. These advantageous properties make the QDs highly desirable for development of a fluorescent probe. In addition, the synthetic strategy can be broadly applied towards other amphiphilic molecule modified Ⅱ–Ⅵ QDs.