US Patent 7226953 - Alkoxysilane-terminated nanocrystal sol-gel composites

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7226953.html

One of the key difficulties in applying semiconductor nanocrystals in materials is coupling nanocrystals to a composite matrix. This patent teaches mixing colloidal nanocrystals with a sol-gel precursor to facilitate the forming of composites. Claim 1 reads:

1. A solid composite comprising the reaction product of (i) colloidal nanocrystals including at least a portion of alkoxysilane-terminated groups thereon and (ii) a sol-gel precursor material.