---
OA_type: closed access
_id: '20055'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: 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.
acknowledged_ssus:
- _id: EM-Fac
- _id: NMR
- _id: LifeSc
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'
article_processing_charge: No
author:
- first_name: Seungho
full_name: Lee, Seungho
id: BB243B88-D767-11E9-B658-BC13E6697425
last_name: Lee
orcid: 0000-0002-6962-8598
- first_name: Daniel
full_name: Balazs, Daniel
id: 302BADF6-85FC-11EA-9E3B-B9493DDC885E
last_name: Balazs
orcid: 0000-0001-7597-043X
- first_name: Sharona
full_name: Horta, Sharona
id: 03a7e858-01b1-11ec-8b71-99ae6c4a05bc
last_name: Horta
- first_name: Aiswarya
full_name: Rayaroth Puthiyaveettil, Aiswarya
id: 8aceb01b-8972-11ed-ae7b-d5fe53775add
last_name: Rayaroth Puthiyaveettil
- first_name: Maria
full_name: Ibáñez, Maria
id: 43C61214-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Ibáñez
orcid: 0000-0001-5013-2843
citation:
ama: '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 de la comunitat
valenciana SCITO; 2025. doi:10.29363/nanoge.matsusspring.2025.173'
apa: '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 de la comunitat valenciana SCITO. https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.matsusspring.2025.173'
chicago: '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 de la comunitat valenciana SCITO, 2025. https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.matsusspring.2025.173.'
ieee: '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.'
ista: '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.'
mla: '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 de la comunitat valenciana SCITO, 2025, doi:10.29363/nanoge.matsusspring.2025.173.'
short: S. Lee, D. Balazs, S. Horta, A. Rayaroth Puthiyaveettil, M. Ibáñez, in:,
Proceedings of the MATSUS Spring 2025 Conference, Fundació de la comunitat valenciana
SCITO, 2025.
conference:
end_date: 2025-03-07
location: Sevilla, Spain
name: 'MATSUS: Materials for Sustainable Development Conference'
start_date: 2025-03-03
corr_author: '1'
date_created: 2025-07-21T08:33:20Z
date_published: 2025-03-15T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-02-19T09:25:57Z
day: '15'
department:
- _id: MaIb
- _id: LifeSc
doi: 10.29363/nanoge.matsusspring.2025.173
language:
- iso: eng
month: '03'
oa_version: None
project:
- _id: 9B8F7476-BA93-11EA-9121-9846C619BF3A
name: 'HighTE: The Werner Siemens Laboratory for the High Throughput Discovery of
Semiconductors for Waste Heat Recovery'
publication: Proceedings of the MATSUS Spring 2025 Conference
publication_status: published
publisher: Fundació de la comunitat valenciana SCITO
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: 'Reaction precursor-mediated formation of stable supercrystals in colloidal
nanocrystal synthesis: PbTe case'
type: conference
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
year: '2025'
...