We report a robust method for synthesis of monodisperse. PbSeTe single ternary alloy and core/shell heterostructured nanocubes, respectively. The key synthetic strategy to produce such different classes of nanocubes is to precisely control the time of reaction and successive growth. The crystallinity, shape/size distributions, structural characteristics, and compositions of as-prepared nanocubes, both, ternary alloy and core/shell, were carefully studied: A plausible growth mechanism for developing, each type of lead chalcogenide nanocubes is proposed. These delicately designed PbSeTe nanoscale architectures offer tunable compositions in PbSeTe ternary alloy and nano-interfaces in core/shell nanocubes, which are the critical factors in controlling thermal conductivity for applications in thermoelectrics.
“Darker-than-Black” PbS Quantum Dots: Enhancing Optical Absorption of Colloidal Semiconductor Nanocrystals via Short Conjugated Ligands
作者:Carlo Giansante、Ivan Infante、Eduardo Fabiano、Roberto Grisorio、Gian Paolo Suranna、Giuseppe Gigli
DOI:10.1021/ja510739q
日期:2015.2.11
Colloidal quantum dots (QDs) stand among the most attractive light-harvesting materials to be exploited for solution-processed optoelectronic applications. To this aim, quantitative replacement of the bulky electrically insulating ligands at the QD surface coming from the synthetic procedure is mandatory. Here we present a conceptually novel approach to design light-harvesting nanomaterials demonstrating that QD surface modification with suitable short conjugated organic molecules permits us to drastically enhance light absorption of QDs, while preserving good long-term colloidal stability. Indeed, rational design of the pendant and anchoring moieties, which constitute the replacing ligand framework leads to a broadband increase of the optical absorbance larger than 300% for colloidal PbS QDs also at high energies (>3.1 eV), which could not be predicted by using formalisms derived from effective medium theory. We attribute such a drastic absorbance increase to ground-state ligand/QD orbital mixing, as inferred by density functional theory calculations; in addition, our findings suggest that the optical band gap reduction commonly observed for PbS QD solids treated with thiol-terminating ligands can be prevalently ascribed to 3p orbitals localized on anchoring sulfur atoms, which mix with the highest occupied states of the QDs. More broadly, we provide evidence that organic ligands and inorganic cores are inherently electronically coupled materials thus yielding peculiar chemical species (the colloidal QDs themselves), which display arising (opto)electronic properties that cannot be merely described as the sum of those of the ligand and core components.
Confined-but-Connected Quantum Solids via Controlled Ligand Displacement
作者:William J. Baumgardner、Kevin Whitham、Tobias Hanrath
DOI:10.1021/nl401298s
日期:2013.7.10
Confined-but-connected quantum dot solids (QDS) combine the advantages of tunable, quantum-confined energy levels with efficient charge transport through enhanced electronic interdot coupling. We report the fabrication of QDS by treating self-assembled films of colloidal PbSe quantum dots with polar nonsolvents. Treatment with dimethylformamide balances the rates of self-assembly and ligand displacement to yield confined-but-connected QDS structures with cubic ordering and quasi-epitaxial interdot connections through facets of neighboring dots. The QDS structure was analyzed by a combination of transmission electron microscopy and wide-angle and small-angle X-ray scattering. Excitonic absorption signatures in optical spectroscopy confirm that quantum confinement is preserved. Transport measurements show significantly enhanced conductivity in treated films
Controlled synthesis of brightly fluorescent CH<sub>3</sub>NH<sub>3</sub>PbBr<sub>3</sub>perovskite nanocrystals employing Pb(C<sub>17</sub>H<sub>33</sub>COO)<sub>2</sub>as the sole lead source
and long-chain alkyl ammoniums in the precursors. At an optimal short to long-chain alkyl ammonium ratio of 4 : 6, the growth of CH3NH3PbBr3 nanoplatelets can be selectively suppressed with Pb(C17H33COO)2 as the sole lead source, enhancing the overall photoluminescence quantum yield of the produced CH3NH3PbBr3 nanocrystals. This work reveals important new insights for controlled synthesis of perovskite