Colloidal CdSe nanocrystals (NCs) have shown promise in applications ranging from LED displays to medical imaging. Their unique photophysics depend sensitively on the presence or absence of surface defects. Using simulations, we show that CdSe NCs are inherently defective; even for stoichiometric NCs with perfect ligand passivation and no vacancies or defects, we still observe that the low energy spectrum is dominated by dark, surface-associated excitations, which are more numerous in larger NCs. Surface structure analysis shows that the majority of these states involve holes that are localized on two-coordinate Se atoms. As chalcogenide atoms are not passivated by any Lewis base ligand, varying the ligand should not dramatically change the number of dark states, which we confirm by simulating three passivation schemes. Our results have significant implications for understanding CdSe NC photophysics, and suggest that photochemistry and short-range photoinduced charge transfer should be much more facile than previously anticipated.
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10439201
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Materials Chemistry A
- Volume:
- 11
- Issue:
- 15
- ISSN:
- 2050-7488
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 8256 to 8264
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Methods Self‐assembled complexes were synthesized by reacting a bis(terpyridine) ligand exhibiting a 60odihedral angle between the two ligating terpyridine sites (
T ) with divalent Zn, Ni, Cd, or Fe. The products were isolated as (Metal2+[T ])n (PF6)2n salts and analyzed using IM‐MS after electrospray ionization (ESI) which produced several charge states from eachn ‐mer, depending on the number of PF6ˉ anions lost upon ESI. Experimental Ω data, derived using IM‐MS, and computational Ω predictions were used to elucidate the size and architecture of the complexes.Results Only macrocyclic dimers, trimers, and tetramers were observed with Cd2+, whereas Zn2+formed the same plus hexameric complexes. These two metals led to the simplest product distributions and no linear isomers. In sharp contrast, Ni2+and Fe2+formed all possible ring sizes from dimer to hexamer as well as various linear isomers. The experimental and theoretical Ω data indicated rather planar macrocyclic geometries for the dimers and trimers, twisted 3D architectures for the larger rings, and substantially larger sizes with spiral conformation for the linear congeners. Adding PF6ˉ to the same complex was found to mainly cause size contraction due to new stabilizing anion–cation interactions.
Conclusions Complete structural identification could be accomplished using ESI‐IM‐MS. Our results affirm that self‐assembly with Cd2+and Zn2+proceeds through reversible equilibria that generate the thermodynamically most stable structures, encompassing exclusively macrocyclic architectures that readily accommodate the 60oligand used. In contrast, complexation with Ni2+and Fe2+, which form stronger coordinative bonds, proceeds through kinetic control, leading to more complex mixtures and kinetically trapped less stable architectures, such as macrocyclic pentamers and linear isomers.
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1039/D3TA00149K
