Förster energy transfer from blue-emitting polymers to colloidal CdSe∕ZnS core shell quantum dots

We have studied the interactions in the solid phase between a blue-light-emitting organic conjugated polymer {poly[(9,9-dihexylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-alt-co-(9,ethyl-3,6-carbazole)]} and colloidal $\mathrm{CdSe}∕\mathrm{ZnS}$ core shell quantum dots. We demonstrate by time resolved photoluminescence measurements that efficient Förster energy transfer takes place from the polymer acting as the donor and the $\mathrm{CdSe}∕\mathrm{ZnS}$ dots, acting as the acceptors. A Förster radius of about $80\pm 15\mathrm{\AA }$ is extracted from the analysis of the relaxation dynamics based on the solution of the donor-acceptor coupled rate equations. This value is in good agreement with the value extracted from the steady state spectra and indicates that efficient energy tranfer from a polymeric host to a nanocrystal guest can occur. Our results are relevant to the application of hybrid organic/inorganic systems to light-emitting devices.