Synthesis of Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Nanocomposites via a Simple Two-Phase Ligands Exchange

Abstract

The surface of nanocrystals (NCs) was precisely engineered with bifunctional ligands via a simple yet effective two-phase ligand exchange strategy where the introduction of bifunctional ligands and displacement of insulating aliphatic ligands are simultaneously occurred. This is advantageous compared to conventional ligands exchange procedure where the desired ligands are often introduced through two-step processes after treating NC surface with short mobile ligands such as pyridine or short amines. In this study, 4-azidobenzoic acid possessing carboxylic acid for binding with NCs and azide group for chemical coupling was utilized as bifunctional ligands. A correlation between the concentration and the efficiency of ligands replacement was corroborated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy measurement. Lastly, organic–inorganic nanocomposites were crafted via click coupling between 1-octyne and azidobenzoic acid capped CdSe NCs. The success of coupling was substantiated by FTIR and 1H NMR.