title: Reaction chemistry/nanocrystal property relations in the hot injection synthesis, the role of the solute solubility.
abstract: Various literature studies show that increasing the concentration of free acid in the hot injection synthesis of colloidal nanocrystals raises the diameter of the resulting nanocrystals. We analyze this reaction chemistry/nanocrystal property relation by combining reaction simulations with an experimental study on a particular CdSe nanocrystal synthesis. We find that increasing the free acid concentration has the same effect on a real synthesis as raising the solute solubility in the simulations. Both lead to larger sizes and a deterioration of the size dispersion at constant reaction rate. Since free acids are used to coordinate the cation precursors in these syntheses, this leads to a meaningful link between a parameter in reaction simulations and the composition of an experimental reaction mixture. We thus explain the increase of the nanocrystal size with the acid concentration as resulting from an enhanced consumption of the solute by nanocrystal growth, which reduces the number of nanocrystals formed. This link between a simulation parameter and the composition of the reaction mixture provides a rational basis to further explore and understand reaction chemistry/nanocrystal property relations in the hot injection synthesis.
authors: Physics and Chemistry of Nanostructures, Ghent University, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors: Sofie
authors: S
authors: Abe
authors: Richard K
authors: RK
authors: Capek
authors: Bram
authors: B
authors: De Geyter
authors: Zeger
authors: Z
authors: Hens
mesh_terms: D019187:Cadmium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D002264:Carboxylic Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D060326:Chemistry Techniques, Synthetic; D006358:Hot Temperature; D007267:Injections; D008024:Ligands; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D045663:Quantum Dots; D018036:Selenium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D012995:Solubility
chemical_list: D019187:Cadmium Compounds; D002264:Carboxylic Acids; D008024:Ligands; D018036:Selenium Compounds; C058667:cadmium selenide