US Patent 8003979 - High density coupling of quantum dots to CNTs

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8003979.html

In order to improve the efficiency of charge carrier transfer to quantum dots this patent from the Research Foundation of State University of New York teaches a way to integrate quantum dots with carbon nanotubes which is found to improve the efficiency of photodetection at infrared wavelengths. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of preparing a carbon nanotube-quantum dot conjugate, said method comprising:

providing a plurality of semiconductor quantum dots;

providing a thiol-functionalized carbon nanotube, wherein said thiol-functionalized carbon nanotube has a surface comprising a plurality of terminal thiol groups; and

attaching the plurality of semiconductor quantum dots to the surface of the carbon nanotube under conditions which yield a carbon nanotube-quantum dot conjugate having a density of quantum dots on the surface of the carbon nanotube of between about 1.0 quantum dot particles/100 nm2 and about 4.0 quantum dot particles/100 nm2.