Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) of TOPO-capped CdTe nanoparticles (NPs) in dichloromethane and a mixture of benzene and acetonitrile showed two anodic and one cathodic peaks of the NPs themselves and an additional anodic peak resulting from the oxidation of reduced NPs. The electrochemical band gap (∼2.1 eV) between the first anodic and cathodic DPV peaks was close to the value (2 eV) obtained from the absorption spectrum. Electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) of CdTe NPs was highly intense for scans into the negative potential region in dichloromethane. The fact that the ECL peak occurs at about the same wavelength as the band-edge photoluminescence (PL) peak indicates that, in contrast to CdSe NPs, the CdTe NPs as synthesized had no deep surface traps that can cause a substantially red shifted ECL.

A product showing strong blue photoluminescence was obtained by oxidation of OH-terminated PAMAM dendrimers, such as G4-OH, G2-OH, and G0-OH, with HAuCl4 or (NH4)2S2O8. The fluorescence emission spectrum peaked at 450 nm, while the excitation maximum was at 380 nm, independent of the generation of dendrimer. The product also shows two weak electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) signals upon cycling the potential between about 1.2 and -1.7 V.

The electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) spectrum of CdSe/ZnSe nanocrystals (NCs) dispersed in a CH2Cl2 solution containing 0.1 M TBAP was obtained by stepping the potential between +2.3 and −2.3 V. Unlike the spectra from the ECL of Si or CdSe NCs, where the emission occurs in a single peak that is significantly red-shifted from the photoluminescence (PL) peak (attributed to emission from surface states), ECL from CdSe/ZnSe produced a spectrum containing two peaks:  a sharp peak whose position was almost identical to that in the PL spectrum and another broader peak with a red shift of ∼200 nm compared to that in the PL. This suggests emission from both surface states on the NCs and from the bulk in NCs where the surface states have been passivated.