Colloidal aluminum antimonide quantum dots

Abstract

AlSb is a less studied member of the III–V semiconductor family, and herein, we report the colloidal synthesis of AlSb quantum dots (QDs) for the first time. Different sizes of colloidal AlSb QDs (5 to 9 nm) were produced by the controlled reaction of AlCl3 and Sb[N(Si(Me)3)2]3 in the presence of superhydride. These colloidal AlSb quantum dots showed excitonic transitions in the UV-A region and a tunable band-edge emission (quantum yield of up to 18%) in the blue spectral range. Among all III–V quantum dots, these quantum dots show the brightest core emission in the blue spectral region.