Role of organosulfur compounds in the growth and final surface chemistry of PbS quantum dots

This paper describes the mechanism by which reaction of sulfur with 1-octadecene (ODE) induces a change in the shape of PbS quantum dots (QDs), synthesized from the S/ODE precursor and lead(II) oleate, from cubic to hexapodal by altering the ligand chemistry of the growing QDs. ¹H NMR and optical spectroscopies indicate that extended heating of sulfur and ODE at 180 °C produces a series of organosulfur compounds with optical transitions in the visible region and that the binding of organosulfur ligands to the growing QD induces a preferential growth at the 100 faces (over the 111 faces) and, therefore, a hexapodal geometry for the particles. The study shows that S/ODE can be made a more reliable precursor by reducing the temperature and duration of the sulfur dissolution step and that any metal sulfide QD synthesis using elemental sulfur heated to high temperatures should take steps to reduce the in situ yield of organosulfur byproducts by avoiding olefinic solvents.