Colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals present unique optical properties which depend on their size, shape and composition. It is therefore crucial to be able to precisely control these parameters during their synthesis. Here we present the synthesis and the optical properties of two kinds of core/shell heterostructures composed of II-VI and I-III-VI semiconductors. First we show that we can grow a flat CdS shell around spherical CdSe cores to obtain dot-in-plate nanocrystals. The lattice mismatch between the two materials, together with the anisotropic shape, induces a large splitting in the fine structure of the first exciton peak. Consequently, the emission narrows and becomes 2D-polarized, in the plane of the plate. This latter property is amplified by the dielectric effect due to the anisotropic shape of the nanocrystal and is verified by polarization measurements in ensemble and at the single nanocrystal level. Moreover, the dot-in-plate nanocrystals deposit spontaneously flat on substrates which provide a fine control of the emission dipole orientation. We then present the optical properties of CuInS2 and CuInSe2 nanocrystals. Their small bandgaps allow reaching near-infrared excitation and emission wavelengths. In addition, they do not contain any toxic heavy metal ions like Cd or Pb. The growth of a small ZnS shell around these nanocrystals greatly improves their emission properties and photostability after water solubilization. We further demonstrate their use for small animal in vivo imaging.
