Tuning nanoparticle size at full yield in the hot injection synthesis by the reaction chemistry

Quantum dots (QD) attract extensive interest in science nowadays due to their tunable opto-electronic properties and suitability for wet-chemical processing. For characterizing their material properties and developing applications, the synthesis of QDs with sharp size distributions at a desired mean size and high reaction yield is of central importance. In colloidal synthetic strategies based on hot-injection, size control is achieved by stopping the reaction during growth, before reaching full yield. To enhance yield and size dispersion, we propose to control the mean size of QDs at the point where a reaction reaches full yield (post-focused diameter). Here, we present two strategies for controlling this post-focused diameter, thereby enabling size-tuning at full yield with hot-injection syntheses