Publication date: 15th May 2025
III-V semiconductor nanocrystals offer a non-toxic alternative to cadmium and lead-based emitters while still affording size-tunable emission profiles; however, attempts to directly-synthesize high-quality III-V materials, such as GaP produce defective, amorphous products. First, we demonstrate the fundamental limitations with a traditional acid-base mechanism despite the choice of effective surfactants. Next, we demonstrate that a redox conversion pathway employing the in situ oxidation of Ga0 metal overcomes these limitations. Consequently, we can synthesize GaP nanocrystals with high crystallinity at temperatures well below those reported in current literature, as low as 80 °C. We are also able to tune the size and shape of the synthesized GaP nanocrystals via careful phosphorus precursor selection and temperature control.
Daniel E. DeRosha - Columbia University, Jessica Q. Geisenhoff - Columbia University