Deciphering Surface Ligand Density of Colloidal Semiconductor Nanocrystals: Shape Matters

Surface chemistry of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) is of paramount importance because it profoundly impacts their physical and chemical properties, processing, and performance. Herein, we report the effect of the shape of ZnS NCs in terms of nanodots, nanorods, and nanoplatelets (NPL) on the surface ligand density (LD) of the commonly used oleylamine (OLA) ligand by combining three experimental quantification techniques (e.g., thermogravimetric analysis-differential scanning calorimetry,