Taking advantage of dichalcogenide precursors, a simple, single-step heat-up method for obtaining Mn 2+ -doped ZnSe1-xSx nanocrystals (NCs) is presented. Tuning the ratios of diselendide and disulfide precursors results in alloys with varying shape, size and composition. When diphenyldiselenide (Ph2Se2) is used, highly branched networks of small NCs form. Dimethydisulfide (Me2S2) induces formation of larger NCs with less branching. Mixtures of the two exhibit branching proportional to the amount of Ph2Se2 vs Me2S2, allowing formation of a series of branched Mn 2+ -doped NCs. Interestingly, these NCs exhibit photoluminescence (PL) characteristic of Mn 2+ , despite the large number of defects and unusual shapes they possess. This demonstrates Mn 2+ can be successfully doped into NCs with several degrees of branching, in which it acts as an efficient radiative trap. Addition of thiol to the NCs led to a large enhancement in the Mn 2+ PL. In organic solution, the sensitivity to thiol varied with the degree of NC branching, with hyperbranching NCs giving the most sensitive response. After transfer to aqueous solution, the Mn 2+ PL of the hyperbranched NCs increased dramatically in response to M concentrations of dithiothreitol (DTT).