In this work, we present a combined experimental and theoretical analysis of two-component ligand shells passivating CdSe quantum dots. Using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we first show that exposing oleate-capped quantum dots to primary carboxylic acids results in a one-for-one exchange that preserves the overall ligand surface concentration. Exposure to straight-chain acids leads to a binary ligand shell that behaves as an ideal mixture and that has a composition matching the overall acid composition of the dispersion. In the case of branched-chain acids, the exchange is restricted to about 25% of the original ligands. Based on molecular dynamics simulations, we argue that this behavior reflects the more favorable packing of oleates compared to branched carboxylates on the (100) facets of CdSe quantum dots.

In a typical colloidal CdSe nanocrystal more than 50% of the atoms are located at the surface. These atoms can give rise to electronic traps that can deteriorate the performance of optoelectronic devices made of these nanomaterials. A key challenge in this field is thus to understand with atomistic detail the chemical processes occurring at the nanocrystal surface. Molecular dynamics simulations represent an important tool to unveil these processes, but its implementation is strongly limited by the difficulties of finely tuning classical force fields parameters, primarily caused by the unavailability of experimental data of these materials that are suitable in the parametrization procedures. In this work, we present a general scheme to produce force field parameters from first-principles calculations. This approach is based on a newly developed stochastic optimization algorithm called Adaptive Rate Monte Carlo, which is designed to be robust, accurate, easy-to-use, and flexible enough to be straightforwardly extended to other nanomaterials. We demonstrate that our algorithm provides a set of parameters capable of satisfactorily describing nonstoichiometric CdSe nanocrystals passivated with oleate ligands akin to experimental conditions. We also demonstrate that our new parameters are robust enough to be transferable among crystal structures and nanocrystals of increasing sizes up to the bulk.

Synthesis protocols of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) comprise the coordination of the semiconductive inorganic core by a layer of organic ligands, which play a crucial role in stabilizing the NCs...

Abstract. The statistical and dynamical properties of ions in the selectivity filter of the KcsA ion channel are considered on the basis of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the KcsA protein embedded in a lipid membrane surrounded by an ionic solution. A new approach to the derivation of a Brownian dynamics (BD) model of ion permeation through the filter is discussed, based on unbiased MD simulations. It is shown that depending on additional assumptions, ion's dynamics can be described either by under-damped Langevin equation with constant damping and white noise or by Langevin equation with a fractional memory kernel. A comparison of the potential of the mean force derived from unbiased MD simulations with the potential produced by the umbrella sampling method demonstrates significant differences in these potentials. The origin of these differences is an open question that requires further clarifications.