Disclosed herein are coated beads made of a primary matrix material and containing a population of quantum dot nanoparticles. Each bead has a multi-layer surface coating. The layers can be two or more distinct surface coating materials. The surface coating materials may be inorganic materials and/or polymeric materials. A method of preparing such particles is also described. The coated beads are useful for composite materials for applications such as light-emitting devices.
