Surface Functionalization of Semiconductor and Oxide Nanocrystals with Small Inorganic Oxoanions (PO₄^3–, MoO₄^2–) and Polyoxometalate Ligands

Abstract

In this work, we study the functionalization of the nanocrystal (NC) surface with inorganic oxo ligands, which bring a new set of functionalities to all-inorganic colloidal nanomaterials. We show that simple inorganic oxoanions, such as PO₄^3– and MoO₄^2–, exhibit strong binding affinity to the surface of various II–VI and III–V semiconductor and metal oxide NCs. ζ-Potential titration offered a useful tool to differentiate the binding affinities of inorganic ligands toward different NCs. Direct comparison of the binding affinity of oxo and chalcogenidometallate ligands revealed that the former ligands form a stronger bond with oxide NCs (<i>e.g.</i>, Fe₂O₃, ZnO, and TiO₂), while the latter prefer binding to metal chalcogenide NCs (<i>e.g.</i>, CdSe). The binding between NCs and oxo ligands strengthens when moving from small oxoanions to polyoxometallates (POMs). We also show that small oxo ligands and POMs make it possible to tailor NC properties. For example, we observed improved stability upon Li⁺-ion intercalation into the films of Fe₂O₃ hollow NCs when capped with MoO₄^2– ligands. We also observed lower overpotential and enhanced exchange current density for water oxidation using Fe₂O₃ NCs capped with [P₂Mo₁₈O₆₂]^6– ligands and even more so for [{Ru₄O₄(OH)₂(H₂O)₄}(γ-SiW₁₀O₃₆)₂] with POM as the capping ligand