Chemical reactions on surface molecules attached to silicon quantum dots

This Article describes research on chemical reactions on molecules attached to the surface of silicon quantum dots that have been performed to produce quantum dots with reactive surface functionalities such as diols and epoxides. Characterization of the surface reactions includes NMR and FT-IR studies, and the quantum dots were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Cytotoxicity and cell viability assay conducted on silicon dots capped with polar molecules indicated low toxicity with quantum dots with more reactive functionalities found to be more toxic. The silicon quantum dots photoluminesce and have been used as a blue chromophore for the biological imaging of cells.