Methods for encapsulating nanocrystals and resulting compositions
View Patent ↗The present invention provides methods for hermetically sealing luminescent nanocrystals, as well as compositions and containers comprising hermetically sealed luminescent nanocrystals. By hermetically sealing the luminescent nanocrystals, enhanced lifetime and luminescence can be achieved.
1. A method comprising:
forming a composition comprising:
luminescent core-shell nanocrystals coated with an inorganic layer, and
disposing a barrier layer on the inorganic layer to hermetically seal the composition, wherein the barrier layer consists essentially of SiO 2 , TiO 2 , or Al 2 O 3 .
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the luminescent core-shell nanocrystals are separated from each other by the inorganic layer.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the luminescent core-shell nanocrystals are selected from the group consisting of CdSe/ZnS, CdSe/CdS, and InP/ZnS.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the luminescent core-shell nanocrystals are between about 1-10 nm in size.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inorganic layer comprises silicon.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inorganic layer comprises silica or titania.