ZnS–AgInS2 nanoparticles as a temperature sensor

Luminescent semiconductor nanoparticles have been applied to temperature measurements, because their emission is intense and the emission wavelength can be adjusted by particle size. However, most of luminescent nanoparticles contain highly toxic elements such as Cd, Se, and Te. In this study, the temperature characteristics of a new low-toxic luminescent nanoparticles, ZnS–AgInS2 (ZAIS), have been investigated. The temperature sensitivity of luminescent intensity of ca. −1 %/K was comparable to other luminescent nanoparticles. The thermally induced red shift of ca. 0.1 nm/K was observed, which is similar to other nanoparticles. The measurement revealed that the oxygen sensitivity of ZAIS is negligibly small. It is also shown that ZAIS nanoparticles are photostable compared with CdSe/ZnS. As a result, ZAIS is one of the most preferable candidates to take the place of other toxic nanoparticles especially for bio-related experiments.