Premium
Size‐Dependent Ligand Layer Dynamics in Semiconductor Nanocrystals Probed by Anisotropy Measurements
Author(s) -
Hadar Ido,
Abir Tsafrir,
Halivni Shira,
Faust Adam,
Banin Uri
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201502999
Subject(s) - ligand (biochemistry) , nanocrystal , chemical physics , semiconductor , shell (structure) , colloid , materials science , nanotechnology , anisotropy , viscosity , chemistry , surface (topology) , crystallography , optoelectronics , physics , optics , composite material , geometry , biochemistry , receptor , mathematics
Colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals (NC) have reached a high level of synthetic control allowing the tuning of their properties, and their use in various applications. However, the surface of NCs and in particular their size‐dependent capping organic ligand behavior, which play an important role in the NC synthesis, dispersibility, and optoelectronic properties, is still not well understood. We study the size‐dependent properties of the ligand shell on the surface of NCs, by embedding surface bound dyes as a probe within the ligand shell. The reorientation times for these dyes show a linear dependence on the NC surface curvature indicating size‐dependent change in viscosity, which is related to a change in the density of the ligand layer because of the geometry of the surface, a unique feature of NCs. Understanding the properties of the ligand shell will allow rational design of the surface to achieve the desired properties, providing an additional important knob for tuning their functionality.