Host-guest chemistry for tuning colloidal solubility, self-organization and photoconductivity of inorganic-capped nanocrystals.

ABSTRACT: Colloidal inorganic nanocrystals (NCs), functionalized with inorganic capping ligands, such as metal chalcogenide complexes (MCCs), have recently emerged as versatile optoelectronic materials. As-prepared, highly charged MCC-capped NCs are dispersible only in highly polar solvents, and lack the ability to form long-range ordered NC superlattices. Here we report a simple and general methodology, based on host-guest coordination of MCC-capped NCs with macrocyclic ethers (crown ethers and cryptands), enabling the solubilization of inorganic-capped NCs in solvents of any polarity and improving the ability to form NC superlattices. The corona of organic molecules can also serve as a convenient knob for the fine adjustment of charge transport and photoconductivity in films of NCs. In particular,

SUBMITTER: Bodnarchuk MI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4682102 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature