So far, many groups have been successful in synthesising hydrophobic nanocrystals, but their inability to disperse in water has hindered their applications in electronics, catalysis and biomedicine. Hydrophobic nanocrystals can be made hydrophilic by using ligands to modify the surface, although these post-synthesis treatments are usually time-consuming and not environmentally friendly. Wang and co-workers have solved these problems with their direct synthesis of water-soluble nanocrystals, which does not use toxic solvents and has no need for post-modifications.
Read this HOT article today:
Formamide: an efficient solvent to synthesize water-soluble, sub-10-nanometer nanocrystals
Xun Wang, Biao Xu and Zhi Cheng Zhang
DOI: 10.1039/C3NR00643C
