Aqueous synthesis of high-fluorescence CdZnTe alloyed quantum dots

•We have synthesized the CdZnTe QDs with a Zn/Cd molar ratio from 1 to 7.•The reaction was happened in weak acid condition.•The fluorescence emitting peak was continuously tunable from 490nm to 660nm.•The maximum quantum yield of our synthesized CdZnTe QDs has reached 78.97%.•Our sample showed excellent stability against time.