Electrochemical properties of semiconductor quantum dots

The aim of this chapter is to collect and discuss the results of electrochemical studies carried out on binary semiconductor nanocrystals (core and core-shell) of spherical shape. The chapter starts with a brief overview of the peculiar electronic properties of QDs (Section 2), and of the electrochemical techniques commonly used for the study of such systems (Section 3). Sections 4 and 5 contain a description of examples taken from the literature. We will focus on CdSe and CdTe nanocrystals, because the relatively large number of papers dealing with these QDs enable a more insightful discussion on their redox properties. Whenever possible, we will compare the data obtained with different techniques by different groups in order to attempt an interpretation of sometimes contradictory results. Sections 6 and 7 are dedicated to emerging or potential applications that exploit the electroactivity of quantum dots. Finally, limitations and perspectives of these systems are summarized in Section 8.