INS5-1106
Tailored Organic Ligands for Electroluminescent Quantum Dots
When and Where
Oct 1, 2026
15:15 - 15:30
Presenter(s)
Dong Ryeol WHANG (Hoseo University)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
The optoelectronic performance of nanomaterials is fundamentally limited by surface defects and ligand-binding affinity. While carboxylic acids and thiols are standard anchoring groups, they present a distinct trade-off: carboxylic acids are highly accessible and cost-effective but form weak, hydration-prone monodentate coordinations, whereas thiols bind tightly to metals but suffer from synthetic complexity, unwanted disulfide oxidation, and sluggish exchange kinetics.
We report carbothioic acid, a sulfur analogue of carboxylic acid, as an effective anchoring group that integrates the complementary merits of carboxylic acids and thiols. Carbothioic acids can be synthesized from carboxylic acids through a simple one-step reaction, enabling the functionalization of diverse commercial carboxylic acid structures. Furthermore, carbothioic acid facilitates strong binding to surface metal ions through strong bidentate chelation and shows fast ligand exchange kinetics.
We demonstrate the broad applicability of this ligand design across three diverse platforms: inorganic QDs, ZnO-based electron transport materials, and perovskite nanocrystals. In all systems, carbothioic acid functionalization effectively passivates surface defects, leading to substantial improvements in electroluminescent device performance. These findings establish carbothioic acid as a universal and practical anchoring strategy for advancing next-generation optoelectronics.
We report carbothioic acid, a sulfur analogue of carboxylic acid, as an effective anchoring group that integrates the complementary merits of carboxylic acids and thiols. Carbothioic acids can be synthesized from carboxylic acids through a simple one-step reaction, enabling the functionalization of diverse commercial carboxylic acid structures. Furthermore, carbothioic acid facilitates strong binding to surface metal ions through strong bidentate chelation and shows fast ligand exchange kinetics.
We demonstrate the broad applicability of this ligand design across three diverse platforms: inorganic QDs, ZnO-based electron transport materials, and perovskite nanocrystals. In all systems, carbothioic acid functionalization effectively passivates surface defects, leading to substantial improvements in electroluminescent device performance. These findings establish carbothioic acid as a universal and practical anchoring strategy for advancing next-generation optoelectronics.
