Reaction precursor-mediated formation of stable supercrystals in colloidal nanocrystal synthesis: PbTe case

Lee S, Balazs D, Horta S, Rayaroth Puthiyaveettil A, Ibáñez M. 2025. Reaction precursor-mediated formation of stable supercrystals in colloidal nanocrystal synthesis: PbTe case. Proceedings of the MATSUS Spring 2025 Conference. MATSUS: Materials for Sustainable Development Conference, 173.

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Conference Paper | Published | English

Corresponding author has ISTA affiliation

Abstract
Supercrystals represent three-dimensional orderings of colloidal nanocrystals (NCs), showcasing collective properties in photonics, phononics, and electronics applications.1,2 Recent studies have shown that such assemblies are directly produced during nanocrystal reactions.3–6 However, a fundamental understanding of in situ formed supercrystals that withstand typical NC purification processes remains underexplored, which is important for further use. Herein, we report the reaction precursor-mediated formation of stable PbTe supercrystals. Rationalizing the formation of these assemblies through small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements, we unveil their formation mechanism. Our findings reveal that the supercrystal formation occurs in the presence of an excess of lead oleates in the crude solution. It should be noted that the formed supercrystals can be stabilized under specific conditions determined by the lead oleate cluster concentration, content of trioctylphosphine telluride (TOP-Te), NC size and the need of an annealing step at mild conditions. Furthermore, this approach allows for the continuous growth of a secondary phase within the supercrystal; for example in the case of PbTe supercrystals, a PbS shell can be grown on each PbTe NC constituent, resulting in core-shell PbTe-PbS supercrystals. Our work elucidates that reaction precursors play an important role in in situ SC formation and stabilization, implying the possibility of applying this knowledge to other NC reactions.
Publishing Year
Date Published
2025-03-15
Proceedings Title
Proceedings of the MATSUS Spring 2025 Conference
Publisher
Fundació Scito
Acknowledgement
ISTA and the Werner Siemens Foundation financially supported this work. The Scientific Service Units (SSU) of ISTA supported this research through resources provided by the Electron Microscopy Facility (EMF), NMR Facility and the Lab Support Facility (LSF).
Article Number
173
Conference
MATSUS: Materials for Sustainable Development Conference
Conference Location
Sevilla, Spain
Conference Date
2025-03-03 – 2025-03-07
IST-REx-ID

Cite this

Lee S, Balazs D, Horta S, Rayaroth Puthiyaveettil A, Ibáñez M. Reaction precursor-mediated formation of stable supercrystals in colloidal nanocrystal synthesis: PbTe case. In: Proceedings of the MATSUS Spring 2025 Conference. Fundació Scito; 2025. doi:10.29363/nanoge.matsusspring.2025.173
Lee, S., Balazs, D., Horta, S., Rayaroth Puthiyaveettil, A., & Ibáñez, M. (2025). Reaction precursor-mediated formation of stable supercrystals in colloidal nanocrystal synthesis: PbTe case. In Proceedings of the MATSUS Spring 2025 Conference. Sevilla, Spain: Fundació Scito. https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.matsusspring.2025.173
Lee, Seungho, Daniel Balazs, Sharona Horta, Aiswarya Rayaroth Puthiyaveettil, and Maria Ibáñez. “Reaction Precursor-Mediated Formation of Stable Supercrystals in Colloidal Nanocrystal Synthesis: PbTe Case.” In Proceedings of the MATSUS Spring 2025 Conference. Fundació Scito, 2025. https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.matsusspring.2025.173.
S. Lee, D. Balazs, S. Horta, A. Rayaroth Puthiyaveettil, and M. Ibáñez, “Reaction precursor-mediated formation of stable supercrystals in colloidal nanocrystal synthesis: PbTe case,” in Proceedings of the MATSUS Spring 2025 Conference, Sevilla, Spain, 2025.
Lee S, Balazs D, Horta S, Rayaroth Puthiyaveettil A, Ibáñez M. 2025. Reaction precursor-mediated formation of stable supercrystals in colloidal nanocrystal synthesis: PbTe case. Proceedings of the MATSUS Spring 2025 Conference. MATSUS: Materials for Sustainable Development Conference, 173.
Lee, Seungho, et al. “Reaction Precursor-Mediated Formation of Stable Supercrystals in Colloidal Nanocrystal Synthesis: PbTe Case.” Proceedings of the MATSUS Spring 2025 Conference, 173, Fundació Scito, 2025, doi:10.29363/nanoge.matsusspring.2025.173.

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