Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering
>> 2017,
Volume 11,
Issue 6
doi:
10.1007/s11783-017-0948-0
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Roles of glutathione and L-cysteine in the biomimetic green synthesis of CdSe quantum dots
CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Department of Chemistry, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Available online: 2017-05-11
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Abstract
Biological synthesis of quantum dots (QDs) as an environmental-friendly and facile preparation method has attracted increasing interests. However, it is difficult to distinguish the roles of bio-thiols in QDs synthesis process because of the complex nature in organisms. In this work, the CdSe QDs synthesis conditions in organisms were reconstructed by using a simplified in vitro approach to uncover the roles of two small bio-thiols in the QDs formation. CdSe QDs were synthesized with glutathione (GSH) and L-cysteine (Cys) respectively. Compared with Cys at the same molar concentration, the CdSe QDs synthesized by GSH had a larger and broader particle size distribution with improved optical properties and crystal structure. Furthermore, quantum chemical calculations indicate that the stronger Cd2+ binding capacity of GSH contributed a lot to the CdSe QDs formation despite of the greater capability Cys for selenite reduction. This work clearly demonstrates the different roles of small thiols in the Cd2+ stabilization in the environment and biomimetic QDs synthesis process.
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