Solid-state synthesis of colloidal tin-incorporated silicon nanocrystals

The incorporation of tin (Sn) into crystalline silicon (c-Si) is challenging due to their substantial atomic size mismatch and the rigid diamond-type structure of c-Si. Herein, we demonstrate a solid-state synthetic approach of colloidal Sn-incorporated silicon nanocrystals with Sn content up to 0.12 atomic%. The incorporation of Sn atoms promotes silicon crystal growth, yielding NCs with increased size and enhanced crystallinity. The resulting particles exhibit intense near-infrared photoluminescence at 985 nm and demonstrate excellent thermal stability.