Repulsive, Densely-Packed Ligand-Shells Mediate Interactions between PbS Nanocrystals in Solution

Published

April 15, 2021

Author(s)

Samuel W. Winslow, Yun Liu, James W. Swan, William A. Tisdale

Abstract

The surface capping ligands on nanocrystals (NCs) impart colloidal stability and determine the organization into ordered solids when cast from solution. Here, we use small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) to measure the solution structure factor in dispersions of fully passivated, oleate-capped PbS NCs up to concentrations of 16 v/v%. Fitting the data by assuming an attractive square well interaction potential between NCs yields a repulsive core size larger than the physical NC core diameter. This repulsive core stems from a densely packed region of the ligand-shell near the NC surface. The spatial extent of the repulsive core increases with temperature as ligand motion increases, becoming repulsive farther out in the ligand-shell, while the portion of ligand-shell outside of the repulsive region remains attractive with a strength 1 k_BT. This molecular understanding provides insight into the fundamental inter- particle interactions in colloidal nanocrystal suspensions.

Citation

Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters

Volume

125

Issue

14

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

SANS, quantum dots, nanocrystal, interaction

Citation

Winslow, S. , Liu, Y. , Swan, J. and Tisdale, W. (2021), Repulsive, Densely-Packed Ligand-Shells Mediate Interactions between PbS Nanocrystals in Solution, Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (Accessed October 9, 2025)