Publication date: 15th May 2025
Achieving atomic precision in semiconductor nanomaterials is important for reproducible synthesis, consistent properties, and enhanced performance in various applications. However, precision synthesis of nanomaterials is challenging because of their complex structures and entangled reactions. Here, I will introduce our recent progress toward precision synthesis and atomic engineering of semiconductor nanoclusters. By combining coordination, cluster, and colloidal chemistry, we “precisionalize” the colloidal cation exchange reaction. Atomically precise semiconductor clusters are obtained at near-unity yields by using atomically defined clusters as anion templates and metal-ligand complexes as cation carriers. X-ray crystallographic structures provide atomic-level insights into the transformation mechanisms, the core and surface structures, and the origins of chirality and polarity in semiconductor nanomaterials. Our results represent an important step in extending precision chemistry from the molecular scale to the nanoscale, providing a designable approach to accessing a library of atomically precise semiconductor nanoclusters with tailored cores and surfaces for their existing and emerging applications.