Semiconductor clusters: Synthetic precursors for colloidal quantum dots

Abstract

Semiconductor clusters have been implicated as reaction intermediates between molecular precursors and colloidal quantum dots (CQDs). The success of isolation of semiconductor clusters have enabled detailed investigation of the atomic information of semiconductor clusters. The identification of atomic information has emerged as an important topic because knowledge of the structure-function relationship of intermediate clusters has been helpful to reveal the synthetic mechanism of CQDs. Recently, they have been utilized as the synthetic precursors for CQDs, which was not readily achieved using conventional molecular precursors. This mini review briefly introduces the current understanding of their atomic information such as the composition, structure, and surface. We then discuss advantages, limitations, and the perspective of semiconductor clusters as a precursor for synthesis of CQDs.

Unveiling the Nanocluster Conversion Pathway for Highly Monodisperse InAs Colloidal Quantum Dots

“…14 To overcome this limitation, the present studies employ various characterization techniques, including mass spectroscopy, X-ray scattering and absorption, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, to elucidate the physicochemical properties of nanoclusters. 15,16 The commercialization of CQDs for optical devices, 17 such as light-emitting diodes and photodetectors, has driven intense research into III−V nanoclusters and MSCs. Among these, indium phosphide (InP) CQDs, used for generating visiblerange photons, have been extensively studied and the complete structure of InP MSC has been reported.…”

“…However, in contrast to metallic nanoclusters, complete structural information is available for only a limited number of MSCs through single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) . To overcome this limitation, the present studies employ various characterization techniques, including mass spectroscopy, X-ray scattering and absorption, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, to elucidate the physicochemical properties of nanoclusters. , …”

“… 14 To overcome this limitation, the present studies employ various characterization techniques, including mass spectroscopy, X-ray scattering and absorption, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, to elucidate the physicochemical properties of nanoclusters. 15 , 16 …”