Semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots (NQDs) comprise an important class of inorganic fluorophores for applications from optoelectronics to biology. Unfortunately, to date, NQD optical properties (e.g., their efficient and particle-size-tunable photoluminescence) have been susceptible to instabilities at the bulk and single-particle levels. Specifically, ensemble quantum yields (QYs) in emission are dependent upon NQD surface chemistry and chemical environment, while at the single-particle level, NQDs are characterized by significant fluorescence intermittency (blinking) that hinders applications as single-photon light sources for quantum informatics and biolabels for real-time monitoring of single biomolecules. Furthermore, while NQDs are significantly more photostable than their organic dye counterparts, traditional NQDs photobleach over periods of seconds to many minutes. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that by encapsulating the NQD core in a sufficiently thick inorganic shell, we are able to divorce NQD function from NQD surface chemistry and chemical environment. We show that our "giant" NQDs (g-NQDs) are functionally distinct from standard core-only, core/shell and even core/multishell NQDs. g-NQDs are substantially less sensitive to changes in surface chemistry. They do not photobleach under continuous laser excitation over periods of several hours repeated over several days, and they exhibit markedly different blinking behavior; >20% of the g-NQDs do not blink, while >40% have on-time fractions of >80%. All of these observations are in stark contrast with control samples comprising core-only and standard, thinner core/multishell NQDs.

Photoluminescence (PL) intermittency (blinking), or random switching between states of high- (ON) and low (OFF) emissivities, is a universal property of molecular emitters exhibited by dyes1, polymers2, biological molecules3 and artificial nanostructures such as nanocrystal quantum dots, carbon nanotubes, and nanowires4,5,6. For the past fifteen years, colloidal nanocrystals have been used as a model system for studies of this phenomenon.5,6 The occurrence of OFF periods in nanocrystal emission has been commonly attributed to the presence of an additional charge7, which leads to PL quenching by nonradiative Auger recombination.8 However, the “charging” model was recently challenged in several reports.9,10 Here, to clarify the role of charging in PL intermittency, we perform time-resolved PL studies of individual nanocrystals while controlling electrochemically the degree of their charging. We find that two distinct mechanisms can lead to PL intermittency. We identify conventional blinking (A-type) due to charging/discharging of the nanocrystal core when lower PL intensities correlate with shorter PL lifetimes. Importantly, we observe a different blinking (B-type), when large changes in the PL intensity are not accompanied by significant changes in PL dynamics. We attribute this blinking behavior to charge fluctuations in the electron-accepting surface sites. When unoccupied, these sites intercept hot electrons before they relax into emitting core states. Both blinking mechanisms can be controlled electrochemically and under appropriate potential blinking can be completely suppressed.

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