Regulation of Silver Precursor Reactivity via Tertiary Phosphine to Synthesize Near-Infrared Ag2Te with Photoluminescence Quantum Yield of up to 14.7%

Precursor reactivity is crucial for the synthesis of Ag2Te quantum dots (QDs), which is helpful to obtain QDs with satisfactory properties. However, because of the inadequate understanding of the structure of Ag precursors, it is difficult to effectively regulate their reactivity. In this work, the Ag precursor reactivity can be regulated by modifying its structure with tertiary phosphines. Therefore, it is effective and convenient to precisely regulate the synthesis of Ag2Te QDs by changing the structure and amount of tertiary phosphine. The exciton absorption peak of Ag2Te QDs can be tuned in the range of 900–1150 nm, with the absolute photoluminescence quantum yield reaching 14.7%, and the full width at half-maximum of the photoluminescence peak being only 180 nm. This work provides a new insight into the regulation of precursor reactivity by altering its structure, which is conducive to the synthesis of high-quality nanocrystals.