Polymers Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA.
Water soluble CdSe/ZnS nanoparticles with emission maxima from 511 nm to 596 nm and quantum efficiencies ranging from 11% to 28% are synthesized in a facile two-step method in ambient atmospheric conditions using a commercially available microwave reactor.