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Patterning without polymers Nanoscale patterning usually requires multiple steps to mask, pattern, and develop sequential layers. One overriding concern is to obtain compatibility between all the materials, as well as the patterning techniques used, to ensure accurate and clean processing. Wang et al. use light-responsive ligands to change the solubility of nanocrystals in specific solvents, so that development can be done by simple redispersion of nanocrystals in dark regions (see the Perspective by Striccoli). The process can fully utilize the advantages of conventional semiconductor processing, but without the need for photoresists, because the nanocrystals are only deposited where they are exposed to light. Science , this issue p. 385 ; see also p. 353

Here we report the syntheses of largely unexplored lead and bismuth chalcogenidometallates in the solution phase. Using N2H4 as the solvent, new compounds such as K6Pb3Te6·7N2H4 were obtained. These soluble molecular compounds underwent cation exchange processes using resin chemistry, replacing Na+ or K+ by decomposable N2H5+ or tetraethylammonium cations. They also transformed into stoichiometric lead and bismuth chalcogenide nanomaterials with the addition of metal salts. Such a versatile chemistry led to a variety of composition-matched solders to join lead and bismuth chalcogenides and tune their charge transport properties at the grain boundaries. Solution-processed thin films composed of Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 microparticles soldered by (N2H5)6Bi0.5Sb1.5Te6 exhibited thermoelectric power factors (∼28 μW/cm K2) comparable to those in vacuum-deposited Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 films. The soldering effect can also be integrated with attractive fabrication techniques for thermoelectric modules, such as screen printing, sugg...

GaAs is one of the most important semiconductors. However, colloidal GaAs nanocrystals remain largely unexplored because of the difficulties with their synthesis. Traditional synthetic routes either fail to produce pure GaAs phase or result in materials whose optical properties are very different from the behavior expected for quantum dots of direct-gap semiconductors. In this work, we demonstrate a variety of synthetic routes toward crystalline GaAs NCs. By using a combination of Raman, EXAFS, transient absorption, and EPR spectroscopies, we conclude that unusual optical properties of colloidal GaAs NCs can be related to the presence of Ga vacancies and lattice disorder. These defects do not manifest themselves in TEM images and powder X-ray diffraction patterns but are responsible for the lack of absorption features even in apparently crystalline GaAs nanoparticles. We introduce a novel molten salt based annealing approach to alleviate these structural defects and show the emergence of size-dependent excitonic transitions in colloidal GaAs quantum dots.

Amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) and lasing from solution-processed materials are demonstrated in the challenging violet-to-blue (430–490 nm) spectral region for colloidal nanoplatelets of CdS and newly synthesized core/shell CdS/ZnS nanoplatelets. Despite modest band-edge photoluminescence quantum yields of 2% or less for single excitons, which we show results from hole trapping, the samples exhibit low ASE thresholds. Furthermore, four-monolayer CdS samples show ASE at shorter wavelengths than any reported film of colloidal quantum-confined material. This work underlines that low quantum yields for single excitons do not necessarily lead to a poor gain medium. The low ASE thresholds originate from negligible dispersion in thickness, large absorption cross sections of 2.8 × 10–14 cm–2, and rather slow (150 to 300 ps) biexciton recombination. We show that under higher-fluence excitation, ASE can kinetically outcompete hole trapping. Using nanoplatelets as the gain medium, lasing is observed in a linea...

A colloidal solution is a homogeneous dispersion of particles or droplets of one phase (solute) in a second, typically liquid, phase (solvent). Colloids are ubiquitous in biological, chemical and technological processes, homogenizing highly dissimilar constituents. To stabilize a colloidal system against coalescence and aggregation, the surface of each solute particle is engineered to impose repulsive forces strong enough to overpower van der Waals attraction and keep the particles separated from each other. Electrostatic stabilization of charged solutes works well in solvents with high dielectric constants, such as water (dielectric constant of 80). In contrast, colloidal stabilization in solvents with low polarity, such as hexane (dielectric constant of about 2), can be achieved by decorating the surface of each particle of the solute with molecules (surfactants) containing flexible, brush-like chains. Here we report a class of colloidal systems in which solute particles (including metals, semiconductors and magnetic materials) form stable colloids in various molten inorganic salts. The stability of such colloids cannot be explained by traditional electrostatic and steric mechanisms. Screening of many solute-solvent combinations shows that colloidal stability can be traced to the strength of chemical bonding at the solute-solvent interface. Theoretical analysis and molecular dynamics modelling suggest that a layer of surface-bound solvent ions produces long-ranged charge-density oscillations in the molten salt around solute particles, preventing their aggregation. Colloids composed of inorganic particles in inorganic melts offer opportunities for introducing colloidal techniques to solid-state science and engineering applications.

Versatile chemical transformations of surface functional groups in two-dimensional transition-metal carbides (MXenes) open up a previously unexplored design space for this broad class of functional materials. We introduce a general strategy to install and remove surface groups by performing substitution and elimination reactions in molten inorganic salts. Successful synthesis of MXenes with oxygen, imido, sulfur, chlorine, selenium, bromine, and tellurium surface terminations, as well as bare MXenes (no surface termination), was demonstrated. These MXenes show distinctive structural and electronic properties. For example, the surface groups control interatomic distances in the MXene lattice, and Tin+1Cn (n = 1, 2) MXenes terminated with telluride (Te2−) ligands show a giant (>18%) in-plane lattice expansion compared with the unstrained titanium carbide lattice. The surface groups also control superconductivity of niobium carbide MXenes.

In contrast to molecular systems, which are defined with atomic precision, nanomaterials generally show some heterogeneity in size, shape, and composition. The sample inhomogeneity translates into a distribution of energy levels, band gaps, work functions, and other characteristics, which detrimentally affect practically every property of functional nanomaterials. We discuss a novel synthetic strategy, colloidal atomic layer deposition (c-ALD) with stationary reactant phases, which largely circumvents the limitations of traditional colloidal syntheses of nano-heterostructures with atomic precision. This approach allows for significant reduction of inhomogeneity in nanomaterials in complex nanostructures without compromising their structural perfection and enables the synthesis of epitaxial nano-heterostructures of unprecedented complexity. The improved synthetic control ultimately enables bandgap and strain engineering in colloidal nanomaterials with close to atomic accuracy. To demonstrate the power of the new c-ALD method, we synthesize a library of complex II-VI semiconductor nanoplatelet heterostructures. By combining spectroscopic and computational studies, we elucidate the subtle interplay between quantum confinement and strain effects on the optical properties of semiconductor nanostructures.

Self-assembly of two sizes of nearly spherical colloidal nanocrystals (NCs) capped with hydrocarbon surface ligands has been shown to produce more than 20 distinct phases of binary nanocrystal superlattices (BNSLs). Such structural diversity, in striking contrast to binary systems of micron-sized colloidal beads, cannot be rationalized by models assuming entropy-driven crystallization of simple spheres. In this work, we show that the PbS ligand binding equilibrium controls the relative stability of two closely related BNSL structures featuring alternating layers of PbS and Au NCs. At an intermediate size ratio, as-prepared PbS NCs assemble with Au NCs into CuAu BNSLs featuring orientational coherence of PbS NCs across the lattice. Measurement of interparticle separations within CuAu and modeling of the structure reveal that PbS inorganic cores are nearly in contact through (100) NC surfaces in the square tiling of the CuAu basal plane. On the other hand, AlB2 BNSLs with PbS NCs packed in random orientatio...

The self-assembly of two sizes of spherical nanocrystals has revealed a surprisingly diverse library of structures. To date, at least 15 distinct binary nanocrystal superlattice (BNSL) structures have been identified. The stability of these binary phases cannot be fully explained using the traditional conceptual framework treating the assembly process as entropy-driven crystallization of rigid spherical particles. Such deviation from hard sphere behavior may be explained by the soft and deformable layer of ligands that envelops the nanocrystals, which contributes significantly to the overall size and shape of assembling particles. In this work, we describe a set of experiments designed to elucidate the role of the ligand corona in shaping the thermodynamics and kinetics of BNSL assembly. Using hydrocarbon-capped Au and PbS nanocrystals as a model binary system, we systematically tuned the core radius ( R) and ligand chain length ( L) of particles and subsequently assembled them into binary superlattices. The resulting database of binary structures enabled a detailed analysis of the role of effective nanocrystal size ratio, as well as softness expressed as L/ R, in directing the assembly of binary structures. This catalog of superlattices allowed us to not only study the frequency of different phases but to also systematically measure the geometric parameters of the BNSLs. This analysis allowed us to evaluate new theoretical models treating the cocrystallization of deformable spheres and to formulate new hypotheses about the factors affecting the nucleation and growth of the binary superlattices. Among other insights, our results suggest that the relative abundance of the binary phases observed may be explained not only by considerations of thermodynamic stability, but also by a postulated preordering of the binary fluid into local structures with icosahedral or polytetrahedral symmetry prior to nucleation.

Recently, solution-processing became a viable route for depositing CdTe for use in photovoltaics. Ultrathin (∼500 nm) solar cells have been made using colloidal CdTe nanocrystals with efficiencies exceeding 12% power conversion efficiency (PCE) demonstrated by using very simple device stacks. Further progress requires an effective method for extracting charge carriers generated during light harvesting. Here, we explored solution-based methods for creating transparent Ohmic contacts to the solution-deposited CdTe absorber layer and demonstrated molecular and nanocrystal approaches to Ohmic hole-extracting contacts at the ITO/CdTe interface. We used scanning Kelvin probe microscopy to further show how the above approaches improved carrier collection by reducing the potential drop under reverse bias across the ITO/CdTe interface. Other methods, such as spin-coating CdTe/A2CdTe2 (A = Na, K, Cs, N2H5), can be used in conjunction with current/light soaking to improve PCE further.

Synthesis of colloidal nanocrystals (NC) of important arsenide nanomaterials (e.g., InAs, Cd3As2) has been limited by the lack of convenient arsenic precursors. Here we address this constraint by identifying a convenient and commercially available As precursor, tris-dimethylaminoarsine (As(NMe2)3), which can be used to prepare high quality InAs NCs with controlled size distributions. Our approach employs a reaction between InCl3 and As(NMe2)3 using diisobutylaluminum hydride (DIBAL-H) to convert As(NMe2)3 in situ into reactive intermediates AsHx(NMe2)3–x, where x = 1,2,3. NC size can be varied by changing DIBAL-H concentration and growth temperature, with colloidal solutions of InAs showing size dependent absorption and emission features tunable across wavelengths of 750 to 1450 nm. We also show that this approach works well for the colloidal synthesis of Cd3As2 NCs. By circumventing the preparation of notoriously unstable and dangerous arsenic precursors (e.g., AsH3 and As(SiMe3)3), this work improves th...

Chemical methods developed over the past two decades enable preparation of colloidal nanocrystals with uniform size and shape. These Brownian objects readily order into superlattices. Recently, the range of accessible inorganic cores and tunable surface chemistries dramatically increased, expanding the set of nanocrystal arrangements experimentally attainable. In this review, we discuss efforts to create next-generation materials via bottom-up organization of nanocrystals with preprogrammed functionality and self-assembly instructions. This process is often driven by both interparticle interactions and the influence of the assembly environment. The introduction provides the reader with a practical overview of nanocrystal synthesis, self-assembly, and superlattice characterization. We then summarize the theory of nanocrystal interactions and examine fundamental principles governing nanocrystal self-assembly from hard and soft particle perspectives borrowed from the comparatively established fields of micrometer colloids and block copolymer assembly. We outline the extensive catalog of superlattices prepared to date using hydrocarbon-capped nanocrystals with spherical, polyhedral, rod, plate, and branched inorganic core shapes, as well as those obtained by mixing combinations thereof. We also provide an overview of structural defects in nanocrystal superlattices. We then explore the unique possibilities offered by leveraging nontraditional surface chemistries and assembly environments to control superlattice structure and produce nonbulk assemblies. We end with a discussion of the unique optical, magnetic, electronic, and catalytic properties of ordered nanocrystal superlattices, and the coming advances required to make use of this new class of solids.

Semiconductor nanorods can emit linear-polarized light at efficiencies over 80%. Polarization of light in these systems, confirmed through single-rod spectroscopy, can be explained on the basis of the anisotropy of the transition dipole moment and dielectric confinement effects. Here we report emission polarization in macroscopic semiconductor-polymer composite films containing CdSe/CdS nanorods and colloidal CdSe nanoplatelets. Anisotropic nanocrystals dispersed in polymer films of poly butyl-co-isobutyl methacrylate (PBiBMA) can be stretched mechanically in order to obtain unidirectionally aligned arrays. A high degree of alignment, corresponding to an orientation factor of 0.87, was achieved and large areas demonstrated polarized emission, with the contrast ratio I∥/I⊥ = 5.6, making these films viable candidates for use in liquid crystal display (LCD) devices. To some surprise, we observed significant optical anisotropy and emission polarization for 2D CdSe nanoplatelets with the electronic structure of quantum wells. The aligned nanorod arrays serve as optical funnels, absorbing unpolarized light and re-emitting light from deep-green to red with quantum efficiencies over 90% and high degree of linear polarization. Our results conclusively demonstrate the benefits of anisotropic nanostructures for LCD backlighting. The polymer films with aligned CdSe/CdS dot-in-rod and rod-in-rod nanostructures show more than 2-fold enhancement of brightness compared to the emitter layers with randomly oriented nanostructures. This effect can be explained as the combination of linearly polarized luminescence and directional emission from individual nanostructures.

The US National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has elected nine authors from the Materials Research Society (MRS), with 87 new members and 18 foreign members, bringing the total US membership to 2309 and the number of foreign members to 281. Individuals in the newly elected class will be formally inducted during NAE's annual meeting in Washington, DC, on October 4. Election to the NAE is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature” and to “the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education.” A list of the newly elected MRS authors, along with their primary affiliations at the time of election and a brief statement of their principal engineering accomplishments, follows.

Precise patterning of quantum dot (QD) layers is an important prerequisite for fabricating QD light-emitting diode (QLED) displays and other optoelectronic devices. However, conventional patterning methods cannot simultaneously meet the stringent requirements of resolution, throughput, and uniformity of the pattern profile while maintaining a high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of the patterned QD layers. Here, a specially designed nanocrystal ink is introduced, "photopatternable emissive nanocrystals" (PENs), which satisfies these requirements. Photoacid generators in the PEN inks allow photoresist-free, high-resolution optical patterning of QDs through photochemical reactions and in situ ligand exchange in QD films. Various fluorescence and electroluminescence patterns with a feature size down to ≈1.5 µm are demonstrated using red, green, and blue PEN inks. The patterned QD films maintain ≈75% of original PLQY and the electroluminescence characteristics of the patterned QLEDs are comparable to thopse of non-patterned control devices. The patterning mechanism is elucidated by in-depth investigation of the photochemical transformations of the photoacid generators and changes in the optical properties of the QDs at each patterning step. This advanced patterning method provides a new way for additive manufacturing of integrated optoelectronic devices using colloidal QDs.

The ability to control both the thickness and the lateral dimensions of colloidal nanoplatelets offers a test-bed for area and thickness dependent properties in 2D materials. An important example is Auger recombination, which is typically the dominant process by which multiexcitons decay in nanoplatelets. Herein, we uncover fundamental properties of biexciton decay in nanoplatelets by comparing the Auger recombination lifetimes based on interacting and noninteracting formalisms with measurements based on transient absorption spectroscopy. Specifically, we report that electron-hole correlations in the initial biexcitonic state must be included in order to obtain Auger recombination lifetimes in agreement with experimental measurements and that Auger recombination lifetimes depend nearly linearly on the lateral area and somewhat more strongly on the thickness of the nanoplatelet. We also connect these scalings to those of the area and thickness dependencies of single exciton radiative recombination lifetimes, exciton coherence areas, and exciton Bohr radii in these quasi-2D materials.

Charge correlations in dense ionic fluids give rise to novel effects such as long-range screening and colloidal stabilization which are not predicted by the classic Debye-Huckel theory. We show that a Coulomb or charge-frustrated Ising model, which accounts for both long-range Coulomb and short-range molecular interactions, simply describes some of these ionic correlations. In particular, we obtain at mean field level and in simulations, a non-monotonic dependence of the screening length on the temperature. Using a combination of simulations and mean field theories, we study how the correlations in the various regimes are affected by the strength of the short ranged interactions., 8 pages, 6 figures

Excimers, a portmanteau of "excited dimer", are transient species that are formed from the electronic interaction of a fluorophore in the excited state with a neighbor in the ground state, which have found extensive use as laser gain media. Although common in molecular fluorophores, this work presents evidence for the formation of excimers in a new class of materials: atomically precise two-dimensional semiconductor nanoplatelets. Colloidal nanoplatelets of CdSe display two-color photoluminescence resolved at low temperatures with one band attributed to band-edge fluorescence and a second, red band attributed to excimer fluorescence. Previously reasonable explanations for two-color fluorescence, such as charging, are shown to be inconsistent with additional evidence. As with excimers in other materials systems, excimer emission is increased by increasing nanoplatelet concentration and the degree of cofacial stacking. Consistent with their promise as low-threshold gain media, amplified spontaneous emission emerges from the excimer emission line.

International audience; AbstractHgTe colloidal quantum dots (QDs) are of interest because quantum confinement of semimetallic bulk HgTe allows one to synthetically control the bandgap throughout the infrared. Here, we synthesize highly monodisperse HgTe QDs and tune their doping both chemically and electrochemically. The monodispersity of the QDs was evaluated using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and suggests a diameter distribution of similar to 10% across multiple batches of different sizes. Electron-doped HgTe QDs display an intraband absorbance and bleaching of the first two excitonic features. We see splitting of the intraband peaks corresponding to electronic transitions from the occupied 1Se state to a series of nondegenerate 1Pe states. Spectroelectrochemical studies reveal that the degree of splitting and relative intensity of the intraband features remain constant across doping levels up to two electrons per QD. Theoretical modeling suggests that the splitting of the 1Pe level arises from spin-orbit coupling and reduced QD symmetry. As a result, the fine structure of the intraband transitions is observed in the ensemble studies due to the size uniformity of the as-synthesized QDs and strong spin-orbit coupling inherent to HgTe.

Control of composition, stoichiometry, and defects in colloidal quantum dots (QDs) of III-V semiconductors has proven to be difficult due to their covalent character. Whereas the synthesis of colloidal indium pnictides such as InP, InAs, and InSb has made significant progress, gallium-containing colloidal III-V QDs still remain largely elusive. Gallium pnictides represent an important class of semiconductors due to their excellent optoelectronic properties in the bulk; however, the difficulty with the synthesis of gallium-containing colloidal III-V QDs has largely prohibited their exploration as solution-processed semiconductors. Here we introduce molten inorganic salts as high-temperature solvents for the synthesis and manipulation of III-V QDs. We demonstrate cation exchange reactions on presynthesized InP and InAs QDs to form In

There have been multiple demonstrations of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) and lasing using colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals. However, it has been proven difficult to achieve low thresholds suitable for practical use of nanocrystals as gain media. Low-threshold blue ASE and lasing from nanocrystals is an even more challenging task. Here, we show that colloidal nanoplatelets (NPLs) with electronic structure of quantum wells can produce ASE in the red, yellow, green, and blue regions of the visible spectrum with low thresholds and high gains. In particular, for blue-emitting NPLs, the ASE threshold is 50 μJ/cm(2), lower than any reported value for nanocrystals. We then demonstrate red, yellow, green, and blue lasing using NPLs with different thicknesses. We find that the lateral size of NPLs does not show any strong effect on the Auger recombination rates and, correspondingly, on the ASE threshold or gain saturation. This observation highlights the qualitative difference of multiexciton dynamics in CdSe NPLs and other quantum-confined CdSe materials, such as quantum dots and rods. Our measurements of the gain bandwidth and gain lifetime further support the prospects of colloidal NPLs as solution-processed optical gain materials.

Several electron accepting polymers having weak accepting–strong accepting (WA-SA) and strong accepting–strong accepting (SA-SA) monomer alternation were synthesized for studies of structure/property relationship in all-polymer solar cells. Two kinds of cyclic amide monomers, 4,10-bis(2-butyloctyl)-thieno[2′,3′:5,6]pyrido[3,4-g]thieno-[3,2-c]isoquinoline-5,11-dione (TPTI) and 5,11-bis(2-butyloctyl)-thieno[2′,3′:4,5]pyrido[2,3-g]thieno[3,2-c]quinoline-4,10-dione (TPTQ), were synthesized as weak accepting monomers (WA). Difluorinated TPTQ (FTPTQ) and well-known perylene diimide (PDI) monomers were synthesized as strong electron accepting monomers (SA). By using 1-chloronaphthalene (CN) as a cosolvent, the morphology of the polymer blended films can be finely tuned to achieve better ordering toward face-on mode and favorable phase separation between electron donor and acceptor, resulting in significant enhancement of short circuit current (Jsc) and fill factor (FF). The fluorination in the TPTQ unit reduced ...

Using time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy, we show that two-exciton Auger recombination dominates carrier recombination and cooling dynamics in CdSe nanoplatelets, or colloidal quantum wells. The electron-hole recombination rate depends only on the number of electron-hole pairs present in each nanoplatelet, and is consistent with a two-exciton recombination process over a wide range of exciton densities. The carrier relaxation rate within the conduction and valence bands also depends only on the number of electron-hole pairs present, apart from an initial rapid decay, and is consistent with the cooling rate being limited by reheating due to Auger recombination processes. These Auger-limited recombination and relaxation dynamics are qualitatively different from the carrier dynamics in either colloidal quantum dots or epitaxial quantum wells.

Semiconducting nanomaterials synthesized using wet chemical techniques play an important role in emerging optoelectronic and photonic technologies. Controlling the surface chemistry of the nano building blocks and their interfaces with ligands is one of the outstanding challenges for the rational design of these systems. We present an integrated theoretical and experimental approach to characterize, at the atomistic level, buried interfaces in solids of InAs nanoparticles capped with Sn2S64– ligands. These prototypical nanocomposites are known for their promising transport properties and unusual negative photoconductivity. We found that inorganic ligands dissociate on InAs to form a surface passivation layer. A nanocomposite with unique electronic and transport properties is formed, that exhibits type II heterojunctions favourable for exciton dissociation. We identified how the matrix density, sulfur content and specific defects may be designed to attain desirable electronic and transport properties, and we explain the origin of the measured negative photoconductivity of the nanocrystalline solids. An integrated theoretical and experimental approach characterizes buried interfaces in nanocrystal-in-glass systems at the atomistic level, revealing how matrix density and specific defects may be designed to attain desirable electronic and transport properties.

Nonradiative Auger recombination limits the efficiency with which colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals can emit light when they are subjected to strong excitation, with important implications for the application of the nanocrystals in light-emitting diodes and lasers. This has motivated attempts to engineer the structure of the nanocrystals to minimize Auger rates. Here, we study Auger recombination rates in CdSe/CdS core/shell nanoplatelets, or colloidal quantum wells. Using time-resolved photoluminescence measurements, we show that the rate of biexcitonic Auger recombination has a nonmonotonic dependence on the shell thickness, initially decreasing, reaching a minimum for shells with thickness of 2–4 monolayers, and then increasing with further increases in the shell thickness. This nonmonotonic behavior has not been observed previously for biexcitonic recombination in quantum dots, most likely due to inhomogeneous broadening that is not present for the nanoplatelets.

Recent work found that soldering CdTe quantum dots together with a molecular CdTe polymer yielded field-effect transistors with much greater electron mobility than quantum dots alone. We present a computational study of the CdTe polymer using the active-space variational two-electron reduced density matrix (2-RDM) method. While analogous complete active-space self-consistent field (CASSCF) methods scale exponentially with the number of active orbitals, the active-space variational 2-RDM method exhibits polynomial scaling. A CASSCF calculation using the (48o,64e) active space studied in this paper requires 1024 determinants and is therefore intractable, while the variational 2-RDM method in the same active space requires only 2.1 × 107 variables. Natural orbitals, natural-orbital occupations, charge gaps, and Mulliken charges are reported as a function of polymer length. The polymer, we find, is strongly correlated, despite possessing a simple sp3-hybridized bonding scheme. Calculations reveal the formatio...

This work investigates the structure and properties of soluble chalcogenidocadmates, a molecular form of cadmium chalcogenides with unprecedented one-dimensional bonding motifs. The single crystal X-ray structure reveals that sodium selenocadmate consists of infinite one-dimensional wires of (Cd2Se3)n2n– charge balanced by Na+ and stabilized by coordinating solvent molecules. Exchanging the sodium cation with tetraethylammonium or didodecyldimethylammonium expands the versatility of selenocadmate by improving its solubility in a variety of polar and nonpolar solvents without changing the anion structure and properties. The introduction of a micelle-forming cationic surfactant allows for the templating of selenocadmate, or the analogous telluride species, to create ordered organic–inorganic hybrid CdSe or CdTe mesostructures. Finally, the interaction of selenocadmate “wires” with Cd2+ ions creates an unprecedented gel-like form of stoichiometric CdSe. We also demonstrate that these low-dimensional CdSe spe...

Since the discovery of metal chalcogenide complexes (MCCs) as capping ligands for colloidal nanocrystals (NCs) in 2009, the chemistry of inorganic ligands for NCs has provided a new paradigm for surface design of nanomaterials. Various inorganic anions including MCCs, metal-free chalcogenides, oxoanions/oxometallates, and halides/pseudohalides/halometallates have been employed to replace the original long-chain organic ligands on NCs. This ligand exchange can also be achieved through a two-step route using ligands stripping agents like HBF4. This review outlines recent advances in inorganically-capped colloidal NCs and details the ligand exchange process for NCs using MCCs and metal-free chalcogenides. The binding affinities of ligands to NC surface have been rationalized in terms of Pearson's hard and soft acids and bases (HSAB) principle. We also demonstrate that inorganic ligands broaden the functionality of NCs by tailoring their electro-optical properties or generating new inorganic phases through chemical reactions between nanomaterials and their surface ligands. Especially promising are the electronic, optoelectronic, and thermoelectric applications of solution-processed, inorganically-capped colloidal NCs, which substantially outperform their organically-capped couterparts.

Nanometer-sized particles of indium antimonide (InSb) offer opportunities in areas such as solar energy conversion and single photon sources. Here, we measure electron-hole pair dynamics, spectra, and absorption cross sections of strongly quantum-confined colloidal InSb nanocrystal quantum dots using femtosecond transient absorption. For all samples, we observe a bleach feature that develops on ultrafast time scales, which notably moves to lower energy during the first several picoseconds following excitation. We associate this unusual red shift, which becomes larger for larger particles and more distinct at lower sample temperatures, with hot exciton cooling through states that we suggest arise from energetically proximal conduction band levels. From controlled optical excitation intensities, we determine biexciton lifetimes, which range from 2 to 20 ps for the studied 3-6 nm diameter particle sizes.

Colloidal nanomaterials represent an important branch of modern chemistry. However, we have very little understanding of molecular processes that occur at the nanocrystal (NC) surface during synthesis and post-synthetic modifications. Here we show that potentiometry can be used to study the surface of colloidal NCs under realistic reaction conditions. Potentiometric titrations of CdSe and InP nanostructures provide information on the active surface area, the affinity of ligands to the NC surface, and the surface reaction kinetics. These studies can be carried out at different temperatures in polar and nonpolar media for NCs of different sizes and shapes. In situ potentiometry can provide real-time feedback during synthesis of core-shell nanostructures.

We investigate simple halides and pseudohalides as an important class of inorganic ligands for nanocrystals (NCs) in solution phase ligand exchange. These short, robust, and easy to model ligands bind to the NC surface and provide electrostatic stabilization of NC dispersions in N-methylformamide. The replacement of organic ligands on NCs with compact halide and pseudohalide ligands greatly facilitates electronic communication between NCs. For example, a high electron mobility of μ ≈ 12 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) has been observed in thin films made of I(-)-capped CdSe NCs. We also studied charge transport properties of thin films based on the pseudohalide N3(-)-capped InAs NCs, suggesting the possibility of obtaining "all III-V" NC solids. In addition, we extend the surface chemistry of halometallates (e.g., CH3NH3PbI3), which can stabilize colloidal solutions of lead chalcogenide NCs. These halide, pseudohalide, and halometallate ligands enrich the current family of inorganic ligands and can open up more opportunities for applications of NCs in the fields of electronics, optoelectronics, and thermoelectrics.

We study the formation of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) films from various liquid-phase precursors. Our experimental data point to the significant role that reactivities of precursor components play in the quality of the final material. Although reactive molecular precursors favor formation of CZTS under milder conditions, the formation of large crystalline domains requires using less reactive nanostructured precursors. We explain this effect using kinetics of nucleation and growth. We have also demonstrated a strategy to effectively enhance grain growth of CZTS using solid-state phase transition as the driving force for nanocrystal sintering. We hope this contribution will provide a useful guide toward the rational design of liquid-phase precursors for inorganic semiconductors for electronic and optoelectronic applications.

Colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals, also known as “quantum dots” (QDs), represent an example of a disruptive technology for display and lighting applications. Their high luminescence efficiency and tunable, narrow emission are nearly ideal for achieving saturated colors and enriching the display or TV color gamut. Our contribution will discuss the next generation of inorganic nanostructures with electronic structure optimized for achieving emission characteristics beyond traditional near-spherical QDs. For example, nano-heterostructures with spherical CdSe QDs epitaxially integrated into CdS quantum rods combine high luminescence efficiency with giant extinction coefficients, large Stokes shifts, and linearly polarized emission. Such a set of characteristics can be ideal for LCD backlighting. The other class of emitters includes colloidal quantum wells (QWs) whose ensemble luminescence is significantly narrower than emission spectra of the best QD samples. Moreover, we show that colloidal QWs produce amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) with pump-fluence thresholds as low as 6 μJ/cm2 and gain as high as 600 cm−1, on par with the best values for any solution-processed material.

Nano- and mesostructuring is widely used in thermoelectric (TE) materials. It introduces numerous inter- faces and grain boundaries that scatter phonons and decrease thermal conductivity. A new approach has been developed for the rational design of the interfaces in TE materials by using all-inorganic nanocrystals (NCs) that serve as a "glue" for mesoscopic grains. For example, circa 10 nm Bi NCs capped with (N2H5)4Sb2Te 7 chalcogenidometallate ligands can be used as an additive to BiSbTe particles. During heat treatment, NCs fill up the voids between particles and act as a "glue", joining grains in hot-pressed pellets or solution-processed films. The chemical design of NC glue allowed the selective enhancement or decrease of the majority-carrier concentration near the grain boundaries, and thus resulted in doped or de-doped interfaces in granular TE material. Chemically engineered interfaces can be used as to optimize power factor and thermal conductivity. In the last decade, nano- and mesostructuring of thermo- electric (TE) materials has become a new paradigm to enhance the efficiency of TE devices. (1) Various approaches such as spinodal decomposition during solid-state synthesis (2) and consolidation of nanopowders (3) have been used to prepare nanostructured materials with high TE efficiency, which is characterized by the dimensionless figure-of-merit ZT = (S 2 s/k)T, where s, S, k, and T are the electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, thermal conductivity, and absolute temperature, respectively. (4) Switching from TE

New electron withdrawing monomers, thieno[2′,3′:5′,6′]pyrido[3,4-g]thieno[3,2-c]isoquinoline-5,11(4H,10H)-dione (TPTI) and fluorenedicyclopentathiophene dimalononitrile (CN), have been developed and used to form 12 alternating polymers having different monomer combinations: (a) weak donating monomer–strong accepting monomer, (b) weak accepting monomer–strong accepting monomer, (c) weak accepting monomer–weak accepting monomer, and (d) strong donating monomer–strong accepting monomer. It was found that lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels of polymers are significantly determined by stronger electron accepting monomers and highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy levels by the weak electron accepting monomers. In addition, fluorescent quantum yields of the TPTI-based polymers in chloroform solution are significantly decreased as the LUMO energy levels of the TPTI series of polymers become deeper. The quantum yield was found to be closely related with the photovoltaic properties, ...

Controlling the spontaneous organization of nanoscale objects remains a fundamental challenge of materials design. Here we present the first characterization of self-assembled superlattices (SLs) comprised of tetrahedral nanocrystal (NCs). We observe self-assembly of CdSe nanotetrahedra into an open structure (estimated space-filling fraction φ ≈ 0.59) which has not been anticipated by many recent theoretical studies and simulations of tetrahedron packings. This finding highlights a gap in the understanding of the hierarchy of energy scales acting on colloidal NCs during self-assembly. We propose a strong dependence of ligand-ligand interaction potential on NC surface curvature. This effect favors spatial proximity of vertices in the dense colloidal crystal and may be considered an emergent "patchiness" acting through chemically identical ligand molecules.

We report on the temperature-dependent Hall effect characteristics of nanocrystal (NC) arrays prepared from colloidal InAs NCs capped with metal chalcogenide complex (MCC) ligands (In2Se4(2-) and Cu7S4(-)). Our study demonstrates that Hall effect measurements are a powerful way of exploring the fundamental properties of NC solids. We found that solution-cast 5.3 nm InAs NC films capped with copper sulfide MCC ligands exhibited high Hall mobility values over 16 cm(2)/(V s). We also showed that the nature of MCC ligands can control doping in NC solids. The comparative study of the temperature-dependent Hall and field-effect mobility values provides valuable insights concerning the charge transport mechanism and points to the transition from a weak to a strong coupling regime in all-inorganic InAs NC solids.

Colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals, also known as “quantum dots” (QDs), represent an example of a disruptive technology for display and lighting applications. The QDs’ high luminescence efficiency and precisely tunable, narrow emission are nearly ideal for achieving saturated colors and enriching the display or TV color gamut. Quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) can provide saturated emission colors and allow inexpensive solution-based device fabrication on almost any substrate. The first incorporation of QDs into the consumer market is using them as optical down-converters. Blue light from an efficient high energy light source (e.g., GaN blue LED) is absorbed and reemitted at any desired lower energy wavelength. Alternatively, electric current can be used for direct excitation of QDs. QLEDs are an exciting technical challenge and commercial opportunity for display and solid-state lighting applications. Recent developments in the field show that efficiency and brightness of QLEDs can match those of organic LEDs.

We report a colloidal synthesis and electrical and magnetotransport properties of multifunctional "magnet-in-the-semiconductor" nanostructures composed of FePt core and CdSe or CdS shell. Thin films of all-inorganic FePt/CdSe and FePt/CdS core-shell nanostructures capped with In2Se4(2-) molecular chalcogenide (MCC) ligands exhibited n-type charge transport with high field-effect electron mobility of 3.4 and 0.02 cm(2)/V·s, respectively. These nanostructures also showed a negative magnetoresistance characteristic for spin-dependent tunneling. We discuss the mechanism of charge transport and gating in the arrays of metal/semiconductor core-shell nanostructures.

Arrays of ligand-stabilized colloidal nanocrystals with size-tunable electronic structure are promising alternatives to single-crystal semiconductors in electronic, optoelectronic and energy-related applications. Hard/soft interfaces in these nanocrystal arrays (NCAs) create a complex and uncharted vibrational landscape for thermal energy transport that will influence their technological feasibility. Here, we present thermal conductivity measurements of NCAs (CdSe, PbS, PbSe, PbTe, Fe3O4 and Au) and reveal that energy transport is mediated by the density and chemistry of the organic/inorganic interfaces, and the volume fractions of nanocrystal cores and surface ligands. NCA thermal conductivities are controllable within the range 0.1-0.3 W m(-1) K(-1), and only weakly depend on the thermal conductivity of the inorganic core material. This range is 1,000 times lower than the thermal conductivity of silicon, presenting challenges for heat dissipation in NCA-based electronics and photonics. It is, however, 10 times smaller than that of Bi2Te3, which is advantageous for NCA-based thermoelectric materials.

In this work, we synthesized InP and InAs nanocrystals (NCs) capped with different inorganic ligands, including various molecular metal chalcogenide complexes (MCCs) and chalcogenide ions. We found that MCCs and chalcogenide ions can quantitatively displace organic ligands from the surface of III-V NCs and serve as the inorganic capping groups for III-V NC surfaces. These inorganic ligands stabilize colloidal solutions of InP and InAs NCs in polar solvents and greatly facilitate charge transport between individual NCs. Charge transport studies revealed high electron mobility in the films of MCC-capped InP and InAs NCs. For example, we found that bridging InAs NCs with Cu(7)S(4)(-) MCC ligands can lead to very high electron mobility exceeding 15 cm(2)/(V s). In addition, we observed unprecedented ambipolar (positive/negative) photoresponse of MCC-capped InAs NC solids that changed sign depending on the ligand chemistry, illumination wavelength, and doping of the NC solid. For example, the sign of photoconductance of InAs NCs capped with Cu(7)S(4)(-) or Sn(2)S(6)(4-) ions converted from positive at 0.80 and 0.95 eV to negative at 1.27 and 1.91 eV. We propose an explanation of this unusually complex photoconductivity of InAs NC solids.

Intensity instabilities are a common trademark of the photoluminescence of nanoemitters. This general behavior is commonly attributed to random fluctuations of free charges and activation of charge traps reducing the emission yield intermittently. However, the actual physical origin of this phenomenon is actively debated. Here we devise an experiment, variable pulse rate photoluminescence, to control the accumulation of charges and the activation of charge traps. The dynamics of these states is studied, with pulse repetition frequencies from the single-pulse to the megahertz regime, by monitoring photoluminescence spectrograms with picosecond temporal resolution. We find that both photocharging and charge trapping contribute to photoluminescence quenching, and both processes can be reversibly induced by light. Our spectroscopic technique demonstrates that charge accumulation and trap formation are strongly sensitive to the environment, showing different dynamics when nanocrystals are dispersed in solution or deposited as a film.