Solution control of radiative and nonradiative lifetimes: A novel contribution to quantum dot blinking suppression

Abstract

Time-correlated single photon counting methods are used with confocal microscopy and maximum likelihood estimation analysis to obtain fluorescence lifetime trajectories for single quantum dots with KHz update rates. This technique reveals that control of the solution environment can influence both radiative (k(rad)) and nonradiative (k(nonrad)) pathways for electron-hole recombination emission in a single quantum dot and provides a novel contribution mechanism to nearly complete suppression of quantum dot blinking, specifically by an increase in k(rad).