Type II 'giant' quantum dots have record breaking lifetimes

Researchers achieved a milestone in the synthesis of multifunctional photonic nanomaterials. They reported the synthesis of semiconductor 'giant' core-shell CdZnSe/CdS quantum dots with record breaking emissive lifetimes. Furthermore, the lifetimes can be tuned by making a simple alteration to the material's internal structure. These new particles have great efficacy for fundamental biological discovery as they emit at red wavelengths, which minimizes scattering, while the long lifetimes allow for biological imaging to be performed with less background noise.