Understanding metal chalcogenide nanocrystal surface chemistry is necessary to functionalize these materials for a variety of applications. Using 31P NMR spectroscopy, we monitored the displacement of tri-n-butylphosphine from chloride-terminated, cadmium-rich cadmium selenide nanocrystals. By titrating these nanocrystal solutions with different Lewis bases with a variety of structure, we established several classes of potential L-type ligands, including non-binding, weakly binding, and strongly binding ligands. Plotting Tolmann cone angle versus basicity, we determined the optimal steric and electronic configurations required for ligand displacement and binding for these cadmium selenide nanocrystals. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report that quantitatively and systematically investigates the effects of chemical structure on ligand exchange with regards to metal chalcogenide nanocrystals.

Quantiftying the impact of sterics and electronics on ligand exchange at cadmium selenide nanocrystal surfaces

254th National Meeting (2017)

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