Carboxylic ligands and their influence on the structural properties of PbTe quantum dots.

We present a low-cost, straightforward, and tunable hot-injection method for synthesizing PbTe quantum dots (QDs). By incorporating short-chain carboxylic acids-hexanoic acid (HexA), heptanoic acid (HepA), and acetic acid (AcA)-alongside oleic acid (OA), we controlled QD morphology and size within t...

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Main Authors: Svetlana Lyssenko, Michal Amar, Alina Sermiagin, Refael Minnes
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0328972
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author Svetlana Lyssenko
Michal Amar
Alina Sermiagin
Refael Minnes
author_facet Svetlana Lyssenko
Michal Amar
Alina Sermiagin
Refael Minnes
author_sort Svetlana Lyssenko
collection DOAJ
description We present a low-cost, straightforward, and tunable hot-injection method for synthesizing PbTe quantum dots (QDs). By incorporating short-chain carboxylic acids-hexanoic acid (HexA), heptanoic acid (HepA), and acetic acid (AcA)-alongside oleic acid (OA), we controlled QD morphology and size within the range of 13-17 nm. The resulting QDs exhibited a well-defined cuboctahedral shape and a core-shell structure, consisting of a crystalline core and an amorphous shell. Morphology and growth behavior were strongly influenced by precursor composition, ligand ratio, and steric hindrance. Compared to QDs synthesized with longer-chain acids (lauric (LA), decanoic (DA), and octanoic acids(OctA)), which produced multiple shapes, the use of shorter ligands led exclusively to uniform cuboctahedral nanocrystals. PbTe QDs are typically reported as cubic when their size exceeds 10 nm. In contrast, our method consistently produces cuboctahedral structures in this size range. QDs were characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). These findings open a route toward controlled shape engineering of PbTe QDs for future applications in quantum optics, infrared detectors, and thermoelectrics.
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publishDate 2025-01-01
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spelling doaj-art-53951e44e77d441e94e4e3b56c9159a42025-08-20T03:43:54ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01207e032897210.1371/journal.pone.0328972Carboxylic ligands and their influence on the structural properties of PbTe quantum dots.Svetlana LyssenkoMichal AmarAlina SermiaginRefael MinnesWe present a low-cost, straightforward, and tunable hot-injection method for synthesizing PbTe quantum dots (QDs). By incorporating short-chain carboxylic acids-hexanoic acid (HexA), heptanoic acid (HepA), and acetic acid (AcA)-alongside oleic acid (OA), we controlled QD morphology and size within the range of 13-17 nm. The resulting QDs exhibited a well-defined cuboctahedral shape and a core-shell structure, consisting of a crystalline core and an amorphous shell. Morphology and growth behavior were strongly influenced by precursor composition, ligand ratio, and steric hindrance. Compared to QDs synthesized with longer-chain acids (lauric (LA), decanoic (DA), and octanoic acids(OctA)), which produced multiple shapes, the use of shorter ligands led exclusively to uniform cuboctahedral nanocrystals. PbTe QDs are typically reported as cubic when their size exceeds 10 nm. In contrast, our method consistently produces cuboctahedral structures in this size range. QDs were characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). These findings open a route toward controlled shape engineering of PbTe QDs for future applications in quantum optics, infrared detectors, and thermoelectrics.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0328972
spellingShingle Svetlana Lyssenko
Michal Amar
Alina Sermiagin
Refael Minnes
Carboxylic ligands and their influence on the structural properties of PbTe quantum dots.
PLoS ONE
title Carboxylic ligands and their influence on the structural properties of PbTe quantum dots.
title_full Carboxylic ligands and their influence on the structural properties of PbTe quantum dots.
title_fullStr Carboxylic ligands and their influence on the structural properties of PbTe quantum dots.
title_full_unstemmed Carboxylic ligands and their influence on the structural properties of PbTe quantum dots.
title_short Carboxylic ligands and their influence on the structural properties of PbTe quantum dots.
title_sort carboxylic ligands and their influence on the structural properties of pbte quantum dots
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0328972
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AT alinasermiagin carboxylicligandsandtheirinfluenceonthestructuralpropertiesofpbtequantumdots
AT refaelminnes carboxylicligandsandtheirinfluenceonthestructuralpropertiesofpbtequantumdots