Emissive Colloidal GaAs Quantum Dots
Colloidal quantum dots offer tunable optical properties for optoelectronic applications, but the synthesis of high-quality III–V quantum dots (QDs) other than indium pnictides, and particularly GaAs, has remained elusive due to synthetic challenges. Colloidal GaAs QDs have been reported very recently and have shown only weak band-edge photoluminescence. Here, we demonstrate a large-scale synthesis of colloidal GaAs QDs in molten salts, followed by a high-temperature surface treatment with K2S, which removes native oxide and enables uniform zinc chalcogenide shell growth on GaAs. These QDs demonstrate bright band-edge photoluminescence and electroluminescence in QD LED devices. Low-temperature spectroscopy reveals a well-resolved exciton fine structure with distinct bright-state splitting and temperature-independent decay dynamics from 4 to 100 K. These results establish a practical pathway for the preparation of high-quality colloidal GaAs QDs from molten salts with potential applications in quantum technologies and optoelectronics.
Authors
- Richard D. Schaller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9696-8830)
- Alexander L. Efros (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1938-553X)
- Kailai Lin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8509-5560)
- A. Paul Alivisatos
- Eran Rabani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2031-3525)
- Sungsu Kang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8220-0345)
- Robert F. Klie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4773-6667)
- S. A. Crooker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7553-4718)
- Danial Zangeneh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0650-5230)
- Ahhyun Jeong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5362-0700)
- Justin C. Ondry (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9113-3420)
- Liu Y (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-3901-1652)
- Jun Hyuk Chang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1640-0343)
- Heng‐Chi Chu
- James Cassidy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6719-4245)
- Zirui Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6740-2432)
- Alexander S. Filatov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8378-1994)
- Dmitri V. Talapin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6414-8587)
Institutions
- Argonne National Laboratory (US)
- United States Naval Research Laboratory (US)
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (US)
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (US)
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem (IL)
- University of California System (US)
- University of Illinois Chicago (US)
- University of Chicago (US)
- IR Dynamics (United States) (US)
- National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (US)
- Center for Nanoscale Materials
- United States Navy (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of the American Chemical Society
- Published
- 2026-05-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.6c03474
- Primary Topic
- Quantum Dots Synthesis And Properties
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology
- National Research Foundation of Korea
- Israel Science Foundation
- Kwanjeong Educational Foundation
- Office of Naval Research
- Division of Materials Research
- Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems
- Division of Chemistry
- Basic Energy Sciences
- Army Research Office