Flexible Cation Exchange Environment via Ligand-Free Metal Chalcogenide Thin Films.

Cation exchange (CE) has emerged as a premier postsynthetic method to carefully tune the chemical composition and properties of nanocrystals with excellent morphology retention. However, reaction conditions are typically dictated by the ubiquitous ligands bound to their surface, limiting their solubility and influencing the thermodynamics/kinetics of the reaction. To bypass these challenges, we report on CE reactions with Cu, Ag, Cu, Cd, Zn, and Mn utilizing ligand-free CdS and Cu Se thin films as host templates.