Abstract
The stability of colloidal nanocrystals in common solvents such as water is paramount in the processibility and practical application of these materials in industrial scale. Herein, we show that a bifunctional ionic liquid (IL) 1-(propanoic acid)-3-methylimidazolium bromide is an effective capping agent in the solvothermal synthesis of water-stable colloidal lead chalcogenide, PbX (X=S, Se, Te), nanocrystals. IL-capped PbX were produced using ethylenediamine (ED) and ethylene glycol (EG) as solvents. The addition of EG or ED in water at 50% (v/v) produced higher quality nanocrystals compared with nanocrystals produced in pure water, EG or ED. This enhancement originated from direct stabilization from the in situ formation of amide- and ester-derivatives of the IL in aqueous ED and EG, respectively.
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