Fundamentals of quantum dots (QDs) sensing phenomena show the predominance of these fluorophores over standard organic dyes, mainly because of their unique optical properties such as sharp and tunable emission spectra, high emission quantum yield and broad absorption. Moreover, they also indicate no photo bleaching and can be also grown as no blinking emitters. Due to these properties, QDs may be used e.g., for multiplex testing of the analyte by simultaneously detecting multiple or very weak signals. Physico-chemical mechanisms used for analyte detection, like analyte stimulated QDs aggregation, nonradiative Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) exhibit a number of QDs, which can be applied in sensors. Quantum dots-based sensors find use in the detection of ions, organic compounds (e.g., proteins, sugars, volatile substances) as well as bacteria and viruses.

The effects of the stoichiometry of the Si-rich oxide (SRO) layer, O/Si ratio, on the structural and optical properties of SRO/SiO2 multilayer films were investigated in this work. SRO/SiO2 multilayer films with different O/Si ratios were grown by a co-sputtering technique, and Si quantum dots (QDs) were formed with post-deposition annealing. By transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and glancing incidence x-ray diffraction (GIXRD), it was found that the Si QD size decreases with increases in O/Si ratio. The photoluminescence (PL) spectrum varies with the O/Si ratio in band position, shape and intensity. In addition, it was observed that the absorption edge blue-shifts with increases in the O/Si ratio. The change in the absorption edge is consistent with strengthening quantum confinement effects in Si QDs, as indicated by TEM and GIXRD. The optical properties were also investigated by 2D photoluminescence excitation (2D-PLE) and lifetime measurements. The origin of emission and absorption is discussed based on the absorption, PL, 2D-PLE and decay time measurements.

The influence of the nanocrystal matrix on the optical properties of lanthanide dopants is investigated with europium ions used as local crystal field probes. The analysis is performed on small NaYF₄ and NaGdF₄ nanocrystals obtained by the thermolysis of the corresponding metal trifluoroacetates. An important role in the synthesis is played by trioctylphosphine oxide which induces the crystallization of nanocrystals with small diameters (∼5 to 6 nm). In such small particles, the energy transfer from gadolinium to europium ions is studied with photoluminescence, photoluminescence excitation and time-resolved experiments. We demonstrate that excited gadolinium ions efficiently transfer their energy to europium, and their photoluminescence spectra depend on the nanocrystal size. This is contrary to the direct excitation of Eu³⁺ ions, which produces size-dependent emission corresponding to the surface to volume ratio of europium sites. Finally, we propose that Gd³⁺ ions transfer their energy mainly to the Eu³⁺ in the core of the nanocrystals. These observations provide a base for the optically controlled emission from only the core of the nanocrystals.

The influence of hydrogen rate on optical properties of silicon nanocrystals deposited by sputtering method was studied by means of time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy as well as transmission and reflection measurements. It was found that photoluminescence decay is strongly non-single exponential and can be described by the stretched exponential function. It was also shown that effective decay rate probability density function may be recovered by means of Stehfest algorithm. Moreover, it was proposed that the observed broadening of obtained decay rate distributions reflects the disorder in the samples.

We demonstrate the effect of air exposure on optical and electrical properties of ZnMgO nanoparticles (NPs) typically exploited as an electron transport layer in Cd-based quantum-dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs). We analyze the roles of air components in modifying the electrical properties of ZnMgO NPs, which reveals that H₂O enables the reduction of hole leakage while O₂ alters the character of charge transport due to its ability to trap electrons. As a result, the charge balance in the QDs layer is improved, which is confirmed by voltage-dependent measurements of photoluminescence quantum yield. The maximum external quantum efficiency is improved over 2-fold and reaches the value of 9.5% at a luminance of 10⁴ cd/m². In addition, we investigate the problem of electron leakage into the hole transport layer and show that trap-mediated electron transport in the ZnMgO layer caused by adsorbed O₂ ensures a higher leakage threshold. This work also provides an insight into the possible disadvantages of device contact with air as well as problems and challenges that might occur during open-air fabrication of QLEDs.