A mild one-step process from graphene oxide and Cd2+ to a graphene-CdSe quantum dot nanocomposite with enhanced photoelectric properties.

Good connections: A graphene-CdSe quantum dot (QD) nanocomposite is prepared through a one-step hydrothermal method using graphene oxide (GO), Cd(CH(3)COO)(2), Na(2) SeSO(3), and aminoethanethiol (AET). The bifunctional AET acts not only as a covalent linker but also as a reductant to transform GO into graphene. The photoactive graphene-QD nanocomposite exhibits a significantly higher photocurrent compared to the QDs, GO or the graphene substrate under illumination.