Marc-Antoine Langevin,†,‡ Anna M. Ritcey,†,‡ and Claudine Nı` Allen†,* †

Centre d'Optique, Photonique et Laser (COPL), Département de Physique, de Génie Physique et d'Optique, Université Laval, 2375 Rue de la Terrasse, Québec, QC, Canada G1V 0A6 and ‡Centre de Recherche sur les Matériaux Avancés, Département de Chimie, Université Laval, 1045 Avenue de la Médecine, Québec, QC, Canada G1V 0A6

ARTICLE

Air-Stable Near-Infrared AgInSe2 Nanocrystals

ABSTRACT We present the synthesis of air-stable AgInSe2

nanocrystals via thermolysis of an AgInthiolate complex followed by an anion exchange reaction. Evolution of the Ag:In:Se ratio with the reaction time demonstrates progressive incorporation of In3þ in β-Ag2Se seeds. While their lattice stays in the metastable orthorhombic crystal structure, the final AgInSe2 nanocrystal shape can be spherical, pyramidal, or prismatic depending on reaction conditions. These nanocrystals emit from trap states between 800 and 1300 nm, which is a biologically and technologically important near-infrared range, with a photoluminescence quantum yield up to an order of magnitude of 21%. The appearance of a shoulder within the photoluminescence spectra between 845 and 890 nm is correlated to the presence of prismatic nanocrystals. KEYWORDS: nanocrystal synthesis . near-infrared photoluminescence . silver indium selenide . anion exchange . air-stable quantum dots . shape-dependent optical properties

T

he near-infrared (NIR) optical region is interesting for many applications such as biological imaging, solar cells, and telecommunications.14 Inorganic semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) are promising materials for these applications because of their tunable absorption and emission properties. They are considered to be more chemically robust and photostable than organic fluorophores and they typically offer a higher photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield (ΦF). They can also be functionalized with different ligands to target specific organs or diseases. Only a few compounds with the narrow bandgap (

Air-stable near-infrared AgInSe₂ nanocrystals.

We present the synthesis of air-stable AgInSe2 nanocrystals via thermolysis of an Ag-In-thiolate complex followed by an anion exchange reaction. Evolu...
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