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The activity of Zn precursors determines the cation exchange reaction kinetics with Ag2S: Zn-doped Ag2S or Ag2S@ZnS QDs

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Abstract

Cation exchange (CE) has been emerged as a promising post-synthesis strategy of colloidal nanocrystals. However, it is unclear how the cation precursor affects the CE process and the final colloidal nanocrystals. Herein, we utilized two Zn-B Lewis acid-base adduct complexes (B = oleylamine (OAM) and methanol (MeOH)) as Zn precursors for CE with Ag2S quantum dots (QDs). Our study revealed that the steric hindrance and complexing capabilities of Zn precursor significantly affect the CE kinetics. As a result, the Zn-doped Ag2S (Zn:Ag2S) and Ag2S@ZnS core–shell QDs were successfully obtained with enormous enhancement of their photoluminescence (PL) intensities. Theoretical simulation showed that the Zn-OAM with higher desolvation energy and spatial hindrance tended to form doped Zn:Ag2S QDs due to the inefficient cation exchange. Whereas the Zn-MeOH with lower exchange barrier promoted the conversion of Ag-S to Zn-S, thus forming Ag2S@ZnS core–shell QDs. We anticipate that this finding will enrich the regulatory approaches of post-synthesis of colloidal nanocrystals with desirable properties.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2021YFF0701804) and the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21934007, 22001262, 22177128, and 22271308), the Science and Technology Project of Suzhou (No. SZS201904), and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Nos. BK20222016, BK20200254, and BK20221262). The authors also acknowledge Prof. Zhujun Wang of ShanghaiTech Univesity for performing the HAADF-STEM and EDS element maps test.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Nano-Bio Interface, Division of Nanobiomedicine and i-Lab, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, 215123, China

    Zhiyong Tang, Hongchao Yang, Ziqiang Sun, Yejun Zhang, Guangcun Chen & Qiangbin Wang

  2. Nano Science and Technology Institute, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China

    Zhiyong Tang, Guangcun Chen & Qiangbin Wang

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  1. Zhiyong Tang
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  2. Hongchao Yang
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  4. Yejun Zhang
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Correspondence to Hongchao Yang, Yejun Zhang or Qiangbin Wang.

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Tang, Z., Yang, H., Sun, Z. et al. The activity of Zn precursors determines the cation exchange reaction kinetics with Ag2S: Zn-doped Ag2S or Ag2S@ZnS QDs. Nano Res. 16, 12315–12322 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-5952-z

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