Formation and Transformation of CdS Clusters during the Prenucleation Stage and in a Dilute Dispersion at Room Temperature.

The formation and transformation of colloidal semiconductor clusters remain poorly understood. With CdS as a model system, we show that, in the reaction of cadmium myristate (Cd(MA)2) and S powder in 1-octadecene (ODE), clusters form in the prenucleation stage of quantum dots (QDs). Called precursor compounds (PCs), the clusters can transform to magic-size clusters (MSCs) in reaction at a relatively high temperature (MSC-322 displaying optical absorption peaking at 322 nm) or in a dispersion at room temperature (MSC-360). When the reaction temperature is increased, PC-360 forms at 140 °C, while PC-322 and MSC-322 form at 180 °C. In a dispersion of cyclohexane and octylamine, MSC-322 transforms to MSC-360 via MSC-345. The MSC-345 to MSC-360 transformation displays continuous and discontinuous shifts in the optical absorption. The PCs and MSCs are a group of isomers. The present findings bring insight into the cluster formation and isomerization in the prenucleation stage of QDs and in a dispersion.