Growing bright: ligand-controlled growth of aqueous colloidal Cu-In-Zn-S nanocrystals

To broaden the potential applications of colloidal quantum dots, sustainable synthetic protocols must be developed and optimised. In this report, we use a low-temperature water-based synthesis of Cu-In-Zn-S quantum dots (CIZS) and we analyse the effect of different ligands (citrate, ascorbate, glutathione, cysteine and mercapto-acetic acid) on crystal growth and composition. The ligands employed have a strong effect on the metal incorporation within the nanocrystal, leading to wide tunability of the photophysical behaviour of the resulting CIZS quantum dots.