Study on interaction between poly(amidoamine) dendrimer and CdSe nanocrystal in chloroform

The binding of different categories of molecules to quantum dot has been studied for many years through different spectroscopic techniques to elucidate details of binding mechanism. In this work we present the results of the study of the interactions between CdSe and poly(amidoamine) dendrimer monitored by photoluminescence spectroscopy of CdSe in chloroform. Dendrimers with different terminal groups and different generations were used to bind with CdSe nanocrystal of different size. Significant differences in the values of binding constant K-b(n) and KSV were found in these experiments. The binding constant for poly(amidoamine) dendrimer of generation 4.0 is higher as compared to generation 3.5. The interaction of CdSe with poly(amidoamine) dendrimer shows all increase of binding constants with increasing dendrimer generation from 2.0 to 4.0, as well as with decreasing CdSe diameter. From HRTEM and FTIR analysis, we suggest that dendrimer/CdSe interactions are primarily hydrogen-bonding. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.