Publication date: 15th May 2025
Many functional nanomaterials used for displays, lighting, photodetectors, catalysts, and other applications are synthesized by colloidal methods. The scope of chemical transformations accessible to colloidal chemists is determined by the thermal and chemical stability of the solvents and surfactants employed. For example, very few traditional solvents can tolerate temperatures above 400 °C, whereas the temperatures used in CVD and MBE growth of GaAs and other important semiconductors typically exceed 500 °C.
To expand the range of synthesizable nanomaterials, we are developing a comprehensive understanding of a novel class of colloidal systems: colloids in molten inorganic salts. Nanoparticles of various transition metals, semiconductors, oxides, and magnetic materials can form stable colloids in these highly unusual solvents. Their colloidal stability in molten salts cannot be explained by traditional electrostatic and steric stabilization mechanisms. Our experimental and computational studies suggest that long-range ion correlations in the molten salt near the nanocrystal interface play a crucial role.
In parallel with our fundamental exploration of these new colloidal systems, molten salts broaden the scope for solution-based synthesis of many nanomaterials that have been beyond the reach of traditional colloidal chemistry. We have used molten salts to synthesize colloidal GaAs, GaP, GaN, InₓGa₁₋ₓP, InₓGa₁₋ₓAs, and InₓGa₁₋ₓSb quantum dots, which resisted numerous synthetic attempts for decades. Most recently, we have turned toward the synthesis of colloidal nitride nanomaterials. By advancing colloidal chemistry in molten salts, we aim to enable synthetic routes to functional materials previously regarded as unsynthesizable by colloidal methods.
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