Abstract
We present the synthesis of colloidal anisotropic Cu2-x Se nanocrystals (NCs) with excellent size and shape control, using the unexplored phosphine-free selenium precursor 1-dodecaneselenol (DDSe). This precursor forms lamellar complexes with Cu(I) that enable tailoring the NC morphology from 0D polyhedral to highly anisotropic 2D shapes. The Cu2-x Se NCs are subsequently used as templates in postsynthetic cation exchange reactions, through which they are successfully converted to CdSe and CuInSe2 quantum dots, nanoplatelets, and ultrathin nanosheets. The shape of the template hexagonal nanoplatelets is preserved during the cation exchange reaction, despite a substantial reorganization of the anionic sublattice, which leads to conversion of the tetragonal umangite crystal structure of the parent Cu2-x Se NCs into hexagonal wurtzite CdSe and CuInSe2, accompanied by a change of both the thickness and the lateral dimensions of the nanoplatelets. The crystallographic transformation and reconstruction of the product NCs are attributed to a combination of the unit cell dimensionalities of the parent and product crystal phases and an internal ripening process. This work provides novel tools for the rational design of shape-controlled colloidal anisotropic Cu2-x Se NCs, which, besides their promising optoelectronic properties, also constitute a new family of cation exchange templates for the synthesis of shape-controlled NCs of wurtzite CdSe, CuInSe2, and other metal selenides that cannot be attained through direct synthesis approaches. Moreover, the insights provided here are likely applicable also to the direct synthesis of shape-controlled NCs of other metal selenides, since DDSe may be able to form lamellar complexes with several other metals.