The lattice mismatch strain field of core/multishell structures with spherical symmetry is modeled by a linear continuum elasticity approach. The effect of the strain on the energy structure and linear optical absorption in large core/shell/shell spherical semiconductor quantum dots is analyzed. Localization of the photoexcited carriers induced by coating is found to play an important role in explaining the optical stability of large CdSe/CdS/ZnS and ZnTe/ZnSe/ZnS quantum dots. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.