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Semiconductor nanomaterials with complex compositions have emerged as next-generation materials for applications in catalysis, energy storage, and sensing. Despite achieving high-quality doped II–VI and III–V semiconductor nanocrystals in specific cases, a general approach to compositional control is lacking. Leveraging the metastability of semiconductor magic-sized clusters (MSCs), we demonstrate a general approach to sequential cation exchange under mild conditions. The sequential exchange begins with In37P20(O2CC13H27)51 MSCs and proceeds through a copper-doped intermediate to achieve Mn-, Co-, Fe-, and Mo-doped clusters at ambient temperature. The resulting products are spectroscopically and structurally characterized to track changes in absorbance, composition, and size. Moreover, we use these doped clusters as seeds for the growth of doped InP nanocrystals, and in doing so, we find that the cluster dopant can be preserved throughout the growth process, resulting in different degrees of incorporation depending on the dopant identity. Finally, the addition of tributylphosphine and mild heating were employed as postsynthetic strategies to remove Cu impurities in the final doped nanocrystals. This mild approach for transition metal doping of MSCs through a sequential cation exchange reaction offers a versatile route toward doped and multicomponent nanocrystals. 

Exploiting the ability of a solid-binding elastin-like peptide to micellize, we mineralize monodisperse silica nanoparticles whosepositivesurface charge enables one-step electrostatic assembly of various mono- and bi-material superstructures. 

This tutorial review presents our perspective on designing organic molecules for the functionalization of inorganic nanomaterial surfaces, through the model of an “anchor-functionality” paradigm. This “anchor-functionality” paradigm is a streamlined design strategy developed from a comprehensive range of materials ( e.g. , lead halide perovskites, II–VI semiconductors, III–V semiconductors, metal oxides, diamonds, carbon dots, silicon, etc. ) and applications ( e.g. , light-emitting diodes, photovoltaics, lasers, photonic cavities, photocatalysis, fluorescence imaging, photo dynamic therapy, drug delivery, etc. ). The structure of this organic interface modifier comprises two key components: anchor groups binding to inorganic surfaces and functional groups that optimize their performance in specific applications. To help readers better understand and utilize this approach, the roles of different anchor groups and different functional groups are discussed and explained through their interactions with inorganic materials and external environments.