Synthesis and hybridization of CuInS 2 nanocrystals for emerging applications.

Copper indium sulfide (CuInS ₂ ) is a ternary A ^(I) B ^(III) X(VI)2-type semiconductor featuring a direct bandgap with a high absorption coefficient. In attempts to explore their practical applications, nanoscale CuInS ₂ has been synthesized with crystal sizes down to the quantum confinement regime. The merits of CuInS ₂ nanocrystals (NCs) include wide emission tunability, a large Stokes shift, long decay time, and eco-friendliness, making them promising candidates in photoelectronics and photovoltaics. Over the past two decades, advances in wet-chemistry synthesis have achieved rational control over cation-anion reactivity during the preparation of colloidal CuInS ₂ NCs and post-synthesis cation exchange. The precise nano-synthesis coupled with a series of hybridization strategies has given birth to a library of CuInS ₂ NCs with highly customizable photophysical properties. This review article focuses on the recent development of CuInS ₂ NCs enabled by advanced synthetic and hybridization techniques. We show that the state-of-the-art CuInS ₂ NCs play significant roles in optoelectronic and biomedical applications.