Steric effects of carboxylic capping ligands on the growth of the CdSe quantum dots

Engineering Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Quantum Dots: Tailoring Optical and Chemical Properties through Selection of Nitrogen Precursors

The process of N-doping is frequently employed to enhance the properties of carbon quantum dots. However, the precise requirements for nitrogen precursors in producing high-quality N-doped carbon quantum dots (NCQDs) remain undefined. This research systematically examines the influence of various nitrogen dopants on the morphology, optical features, and band structure of NCQDs. The dots are synthesized using an efficient, eco- friendly, and rapid continuous hydrothermal flow technique. This method offers unparalleled control over synthesis and doping, while also eliminating convention-related issues. Citric acid is used as the carbon source, and urea, trizma base, beta-alanine, L-arginine, and EDTA are used as nitrogen sources. Notably, urea and trizma produced NCQDs with excitation-independent fluorescence, high quantum yields (up to 40%), and uniform dots with narrow particle size distributions. Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT modelling established that defects and substituents within the graphitic structure have a more significant impact on the NCQDs' electronic structure than nitrogen-containing functional groups. Importantly, for the first time, this work demonstrates that the conventional approach of modelling single-layer structures is insufficient, but two layers suffice for replicating experimental data. This study, therefore, provides essential guidance on the selection of nitrogen precursors for NCQD customization for diverse applications.

Unveiling the Localized Exciton-Based Photoluminescence of Manganese Doped Cesium Zinc Halide Nanocrystals

Lead-free metal halide nanocrystals (NCs) have aroused increasing attention due to their unique optoelectronic properties based on localized excitons (LEs). However, the vital influencing factors for the LEs based photoluminescence (PL) are still not well-understood due to the coupling of various intrinsic and extrinsic factors of the NCs. Herein, by engineering the phase, size, morphology, and chemical composition, we are able to decouple the intrinsic and extrinsic factors of manganese doped cesium zinc-halide NCs. We found both the intrinsic metal-halide coordination field and the extrinsic crystal defects have significant influences on the LEs' recombination and energy transfer processes, and hence determine the PL efficiency. Unlike for the free excitons (FEs) based PL, the phase as well as the crystal morphology do not play major roles for the LEs based PL. This work provides a new insight for the study of LE dynamics of metal halide NCs.

Tiny spots to light the future: advances in synthesis, properties, and application of perovskite nanocrystals in solar cells

Perovskites are in the hotspot of material science and technology. Outstanding properties have been discovered, fundamental mechanisms of defect formation and degradation elucidated, and applications in a wide variety of optoelectronic devices demonstrated. Advances through adjusting the bulk-perovskite composition, as well as the integration of layered and nanostructured perovskites in the devices, allowed improvement in performance and stability. Recently, efforts have been devoted to investigating the effects of quantum confinement in perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) aiming to fabricate optoelectronic devices based solely on these nanoparticles. In general, the applications are focused on light-emitting diodes, especially because of the high color purity and high fluorescence quantum yield obtained in PNCs. Likewise, they present important characteristics featured for photovoltaic applications, highlighting the possibility of stabilizing photoactive phases that are unstable in their bulk analog, the fine control of the bandgap through size change, low defect density, and compatibility with large-scale deposition techniques. Despite the progress made in the last years towards the improvement in the performance and stability of PNCs-based solar cells, their efficiency is still much lower than that obtained with bulk perovskite, and discussions about upscaling of this technology are scarce. In light of this, we address in this review recent routes towards efficiency improvement and the up-scaling of PNC solar cells, emphasizing synthesis management and strategies for solar cell fabrication.

Ligand induced switching of the band alignment in aqueous synthesized CdTe/CdS core/shell nanocrystals

CdTe/CdS core/shell quantum dots (QDs) are formed in aqueous synthesis via the partial decomposition of hydrophilic thiols, used as surface ligands. In this work, we investigate the influence of the chemical nature (functional group and chain length) of the used surface ligands on the shell formation. Four different surface ligands are compared: 3-mercaptopropionic acid, MPA, thioglycolic acid, TGA, sodium 3-mercaptopropanesulfonate, MPS, and sodium 2-mercaptoethanesulfonate, MES. The QD growth rate increases when the ligand aliphatic chain length decreases due to steric reasons. At the same time, the QDs stabilized with carboxylate ligands grow faster and achieve higher photoluminescence quantum yields compared to those containing sulfonate ligands. The average PL lifetime of TGA and MPA capped QDs is similar (≈20 ns) while in the case of MPS shorter (≈15 ns) and for MES significantly longer (≈30 ns) values are measured. A detailed structural analysis combining powder X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) indicates the existence of two novel regimes of band alignment: in the case of the mercaptocarboxylate ligands the classic type I band alignment between the core and shell materials is predominant, while the mercaptosulfonate ligands induce a quasi-type II alignment (MES) or an inverted type I alignment (MPS). Finally, the effect of the pH value on the optical properties was evaluated: using a ligand excess in solution allows achieving better stability of the QDs while maintaining high photoluminescence intensity at low pH.

Thermochemical Measurements of Cation Exchange in CdSe Nanocrystals Using Isothermal Titration Calorimetry

Among the various reported post synthetic modifications of colloidal nanocrystals, cation exchange (CE) is one of the most promising and versatile approaches for the synthesis of nanostructures that cannot be directly synthesized from their constitutive precursors. Numerous studies have reported on the qualitative analysis of these reactions, but rigorous quantitative study of the thermodynamics of CE in colloidal nanoparticles is still lacking. We demonstrate using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), the thermodynamics of the CE between cadmium selenide (CdSe) nanocrystals and silver in solution can be quantified. We survey the influence of CdSe nanocrystal diameter, capping ligands and temperature on the thermodynamics of the exchange reaction. Results obtained from ITC provide a detailed description of overall thermodynamic parameters-equilibrium constant ( K _eq), enthalpy (Δ H), entropy (Δ S) and stoichiometry ( n)-of the exchange reaction. We compared the free energy change of reaction (Δ G) between CdSe and Ag⁺ obtained directly from ITC for both CdSe bulk and nanoparticles with values calculated from previously reported methods. While the calculated value is closer to the experimentally obtained Δ G _rxn for bulk particles, nanocrystals show an additional Gibbs free energy stabilization of ∼-14 kJ/mol Se. We discuss a thermochemical cycle elucidating the steps involved in the overall cation exchange process. This work demonstrates the application of ITC to probe the thermochemistry of nanoscale transformations under relevant solution conditions.

Organolead Halide Perovskite Nanocrystals: Branched Capping Ligands Control Crystal Size and Stability

CH3 NH3 PbBr3 perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) of different sizes (ca. 2.5-100 nm) with high photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield (QY; ca. 15-55 %) and product yield have been synthesized using the branched molecules, APTES and NH2 -POSS, as capping ligands. These ligands are sterically hindered, resulting in a uniform size of PNCs. The different capping effects resulting from branched versus straight-chain capping ligands were compared and a possible mechanism proposed to explain the dissolution-precipitation process, which affects the growth and aggregation of PNCs, and thereby their overall stability. Unlike conventional PNCs capped with straight-chain ligands, APTES-capped PNCs show high stability in protic solvents as a result of the strong steric hindrance and propensity for hydrolysis of APTES, which prevent such molecules from reaching and reacting with the core of PNCs.

Synergistic effect of carboxylic and amine ligands on the synthesis of CdSe nanocrystals

We demonstrate the drastic improvement in absorbance and photoluminescence (UV-PL) of CdSe nanocrystals (NCs) upon adding both a carboxylic acid and an amine ligand to the cadmium acetate green chemistry source.