Photo-induced cation exchange reaction of germanium chalcogenide nanocrystals synthesized using gas-phase laser photolysis reaction.

Germanium chalcogenide GeS(x)Se(1-x) nanocrystals (NC) were synthesized using a novel gas-phase laser photolysis reaction. The composition was simply controlled by the partial pressure of precursors in a closed reactor. Remarkably, these ligand-free NC undergo the photo-induced cation exchange reaction to produce a series of Cd, Zn, Pb, and Ag chalcogenide NC in aqueous solution, which is governed by the thermodynamic driving force based on solubility.