The optical properties ofⅠ-Ⅲ-Ⅵ
2family quantum dots can be optimized by composition control,core-shell structure,doping and alloying,surface ligands and ligand exchange.Because the nucleation process of quantum dots can be explained by LaMer nucleation theory,the growth process of quantum dots conforms to Ostwald theory
[46,47][48]。 The schematic diagram of LaMer theoretical growth mechanism is shown in Figure 5A,so controlling different reaction temperatures and holding times has a crucial impact on the size of quantum dots.The optical properties of QDs,such as emission wavelength and quantum yield,can be tuned by the quantum size effect.TheⅠ-Ⅲ-Ⅵ
2family of quantum dots also has a flexible chemical element composition,so that the regulation of the composition can also be used as one of the means for optimizing the optical performance.Different precursor ratios will result in different band gaps of synthesized quantum dots,which will lead to different optical properties of quantum dots,such as wavelength range and quantum yield
[49]。 The smaller the ratio of the amount of precursors of the first subgroup(Cu
+,Ag
+)and the third main group(In
3+,Ga
3+,Al
3+),the greater the blue shift of the emission wavelength of the synthesized QDs,as shown in Fig.5 B.At the same time,as the luminescent center,the amount of copper ions also affects the emission intensity,and excessive copper ion precursors will quench the optical properties of QDs.The optical properties of synthesized QDs are also closely related to surface ligands,which can not only enhance the chemical stability of QDs and prevent them from agglomeration,but also participate in photophysical processes through vibrational coupling.In this process,additional surface polarons are formed to suppress the surface defect States of quantum dots.Surface ligands such as oleylamine(OLA),oleic acid(OA),dodecanethiol(DDT)and trioctylphosphine(TOP)are widely used in the synthesis of quantum dots
[50]。 The surface ligands can be classified into L-type,X-type,and Z-type.Metal halide is a Z-shaped ligand.According to Young's acid-base theory,different surface ligands are selected according to different precursors.The role of each ligand has been introduced in the thermal injection method above.Using DDT as a surface ligand to synthesize CuInS
2quantum dots,the PLQY of CIS/ZnS quantum dots is more than 80%.A large number of dangling bonds and defects on the surface of CIS quantum dots will increase the probability of exciton non-radiative recombination,which will affect the optical properties of quantum dots,so it is necessary to design the structure of quantum dots.Encapsulating one or more shells on the surface ofⅠ-Ⅲ-Ⅵ
2QDs to form a core-shell structure can suppress the non-radiative recombination process of excitons and resonance energy transfer(FRET)to obtain QDs with high PLQY
[51]。 According to the energy offset between the highest occupied molecular orbital(HOMO)and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital(LUMO)levels of two adjacent materials and the localization mechanism of different carriers observed after photoexcitation,the core-shell structures of quantum dots are mainly divided into three types:Ⅰ-type,Ⅱ-type,and anti-Ⅰ-type
[52]。 As shown in Figure 5C,in the I-type core-shell structure quantum dot,the band gap of the shell material is larger than that of the inner core,and after being excited,electrons and holes are mainly confined to the part of the inner core material with a narrower band gap,thus generating direct excitons.In the type-Ⅱcore-shell structure quantum dot,the staggered energy level arrangement leads to the spatial separation of electrons and holes on different sides of the heterojunction,and after excitation,the electrons and holes are separated in different regions of the core shell to form a spatial indirect exciton;In the inverse I-type core-shell structure quantum dots,the band gap of the shell semiconductor material is smaller than that of the core,and after excitation,some carriers are confined in one of the components,while the other carriers are dispersed in the whole quantum dot.ZnS,ZnSe,GaS
xand InS
xare commonly used as shell materials,and the band gap of ZnS is 3.54 eV
[53,54]。 As a common shell material,the matching degree with the CIS inner core is as high as 98%,and the quantum yield of the core-shell structure of CuInS
2/ZnS or AgInS
2/ZnS quantum dots as an I-type core-shell structure can be up to more than 80%.Wu et al.Synthesized CIZS/ZnS/ZnS multi-shell QDs by using the multilayer core-shell structure optimization idea,and the thick-shell CIZS/ZnSZnS core-shell QDs have high stability and high quantum yield of 77%
[55]。 the growth of ZnS shell on quantum dots involves the competition of several processes such as Cation exchange,epitaxial growth and internal diffusion.cation exchange leads to a reduction in the luminescent core,resulting in a blue shift in the spectrum,while internal diffusion tends to form an alloy shell
[30]。 ZnS and ZnSe shells are coated with Cd-based quantum dots by epitaxial deposition to form a II-type core-shell structure,and indirect carriers weaken the quantum confinement effect and show a red shift in the spectrum
[56,57]。 Due to the characteristics of non-stoichiometry and large lattice matching ofⅠ-Ⅲ-Ⅵ
2quantum dots,doping and alloying have become one of the important means to regulate the optical properties ofⅠ-Ⅲ-Ⅵ
2quantum dots.The doped elements are mostly Zn,Ga,Ag,Mn and other elements,the alloyed quantum dots with homogeneous structure are obtained by doping,and the band gap of the quantum dots is adjusted by doping the alloy under the condition of lattice matching,so that the quantum efficiency is improved,and the stability is enhanced.Yoon et al.Synthesized Zn-doped Zn-Cu-Ga-S(ZCGS)/ZnS multiple core-shell quantum dots by one-pot thermal method,and the photoluminescence quantum yield of blue light was as high as 80%under the passivation of surface defect States by multilayer ZnS shells
[58]。 Ag-Ga-Zn-S(AGZS)quantum dots(QDs)with narrow-band blue emission were synthesized By Xie et al.by controlling The molar ratio of Ag/Zn at 4∶1 and Ag/Ga at 1∶8 via a one-pot method.the AGZS QDs exhibited blue emission at 470 nm with a full width at half maximum(FWHM)of 48 nm
[59]。 The full width at half maximum is very narrow for multi-element quantum dots,and the narrow-band emission from band-edge recombination can be further explored by element doping and alloying ofⅠ-Ⅲ-Ⅵ
2quantum dots.Uematsu et al.Synthesized Ag-In-Ga-S/GaS
xmulti-element QDs by hot injection method,which exhibited strong green band-edge emission with a peak wavelength between 499 nm and 543 nm and a half-peak width of only 31 nm,which is equivalent to the half-peak width of Cd-based QDs.The narrow-band emission makesⅠ-Ⅲ-Ⅵ
2QDs have potential applications in the field of display
[26]。 Zhang et al.constructed an ultrathin indium sulfide shell based on Zn-Ag-In-Ga-S multiple quantum dots to improve the radiation recombination rate,so that the DAP emission was enhanced,the PLQY was significantly increased to 86.2%,and the QLED device(EQE)based on this was as high as 5.32%
[60]。 Therefore,doping and alloying has become one of the important means to explore the band-edge emission of multi-component quantum dots.Hoisang et al.explored surface modification on multi-alloying AIGS QDs,and performed surface ligand modification treatment on AIGS QDs by using metal halide(ZnCl
2)with Z-type ligands,which increased the PL quantum yield by 2–3 times,and the highest value reached 73.4%,as shown in Fig.5d
[28]。 The optical properties of QDs can also be further enhanced by surface ligand exchange
[61]。