Tuning the Reactivity of Indium Alkanoates by Tertiary Organophosphines for the Synthesis of Indium-Based Quantum Dots

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.1c03219
• Publication Date: 2021-11-17T08:33:56Z
• Authors: Yang Li; Xiaoqi Hou; Yongmiao Shen; Ning Dai; Xiaogang Peng
• Keywords: Reactivity; Molar ratio; Decarboxylation

Indium-based quantum dots (QDs), such as InP, InAs, and CuInS2, are considered the most promising candidates cadmium/lead-free QDs. At present, synthesis of these QDs is limited by unbalanced reactivity various precursors, specifically sluggish indium alkanoates. Here, we demonstrate that, with a phosphine-to-indium molar ratio beyond 3:1, decarboxylation reactions alkanoates aliphatic tertiary organophosphines become apparent, forming series new complexes, instead purely enhancing solubility at low ratio. These complexes proven to be highly reactive precursors. By varying organophosphine alkanoate ratios, resulting indium-complexes offer needed tunability for high-quality In-based