Hybrid effect of doped and de-doped poly(3-methylthiophene) nanowires with CdSe/ZnS quantum dots: Nanoscale luminescence variation

Doped and de-doped poly(3-methylthiophene) (P3MT) nanowires (NWs) were synthesized through electrochemical polymerization and functionalized CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) with blue and green emissions were homogeneously attached to the NW surfaces. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the QDs/P3MT single NWs indicated a drastic enhancement of PL intensity for both doped and de-doped NWs owing to the energy transfer effect from QDs to NWs. The QDs/de-doped P3MT NWs exhibited higher energy transfer efficiency because of a reduced screening effect for energy transfer, which was confirmed by a decrease in the exciton lifetime of the QDs, determined from time-resolved PL decay curves.