Comparative assessment of phase transfer rate and fraction of InP/ZnS, CuInS/ZnS quantum dots with CdSe/ZnS quantum dots under varying environmental conditions

There is no clear information on the type of behavior quantum dots will exhibit in the environment as it is a new technology. It is vital to assess the behavior and potential risks of quantum dots in different environmental media. to determine environmental impacts. Current studies have focused on exploring the behavior of different structures of CdSe quantum dots that is the most prevanlently used type of quantum dot with the best performance. As widely used cadmium- based quantum dots contain heavy metals with carcinogenic effect is likely a threat to the environment and human healthFor this reason, there is a transition towards the use of cadmium- free quantum dots as required by environmental legislation. Two of the most prominent quantum dots types competing with CdSe Qdots are InP/ZnS, CuInS/ZnS quantum dots. In this study, the behavior of CdSe/ZnS and InP/ZnS, CuInS/ZnS quantum dots coated with three different ligands (oleic acid, oleylamine, octadecylamine) were examined for different environmental conditions (humic acid content, pH value and ionic strength). The literature in this area shows that quantity of natural organic matter in water, type of ligand selected, pH and ionic strength are important factors for both phase transfer and behavior in the aquatic environment. Since the release of ions and their mobility in the environment are important after these metals in the semiconductor structure are released in the environment, the rate and speed of release, which is the result of the destabilization of quantum particles and subsequent degradation of their crystal structure, were compared within the scope of the study. The aim of the study is to further advance the scientific knowledge necessary to evaluate environmental effects of quantum dots. the resullts show that the presence of humic acid representing the Natural Organic Matter (NOM) in the aquatic environment is essential for the phase transfer to take place and that the presence of NOM - even in the lowest concentration enable phase transfer Among the three coating ligands studied, oleic acid was found to be transferred more rapidly than the other two types of ligands. The change in the value of the amine group and the oleic acid relative to the pH level significantly influences behavior and makes pH an important variable amongof medium properties. It was observed that the pH value decreases and the transition speed increases in the presence of KCl.