Silver-doped CdSe magic-sized nanocrystals

Magic-sized nanocrystals (MSNCs) grow via jumps between very specific sizes. This discrete growth is a possible avenue toward monodisperse nanomaterials that are completely identical in size and shape. In spite of this potential, MSNCs have seen limited study and application due to their poor optical properties. Specifically, MSNCs are limited in their range of emission wavelengths and commonly exhibit poor photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs). Here, we report silver doping of CdSe MSNCs as a strategy to improve the optical properties of MSNCs. Silver doping leads to controllable shifts in emission wavelength and significant increases in MSNC PLQYs. These results suggest that doped MSNCs are interesting candidates for displays or luminescent solar concentrators. Finally, we demonstrate that the doping process does not affect the magic size of our MSNCs, allowing further photophysical study of this class of nanomaterial.