Patent ID: 7914710

Claim:
A method for the preparation of a composite material of microgels containing inorganic nanoparticles with a CdSe/ZnS core-shell semiconductor, the method comprising the steps of: a) synthesizing microgels in water; b) transferring the microgels to a selected organic solvent to form a microgel dispersion, the microgels of the microgel dispersion having a microgel network, the microgels being selected to contain moieties that can interact with an outer surface of inorganic nanoparticles; and c) adding a solution of said inorganic nanoparticles to the microgel dispersion, said nanoparticles having an outer surface covered with hydrophobic ligands that render the inorganic nanoparticles insoluble in an aqueous solution, and wherein some of the said hydrophobic ligands are replaced by said moieties, giving rise to substantially irreversible incorporation of the nanoparticles into the microgel network to produce the composite material and release of the hydrophobic ligands to the organic solvent.