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Hydride-terminated silicon (Si) nanocrystals were capped with dodecanethiol by a thermally promoted thiolation reaction. Under an inert atmosphere, the thiol-capped nanocrystals exhibit photoluminescence (PL) properties similar to those of alkene-capped Si nanocrystals, including size-tunable emission wavelength, relatively high quantum yields (>10%), and long radiative lifetimes (26-280 μs). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed that the ligands attach to the nanocrystal surface via covalent Si-S bonds. The thiol-capping layer, however, readily undergoes hydrolysis and severe degradation in the presence of moisture. Dodecanethiol could be exchanged with dodecene by hydrosilylation for enhanced stability.
Yu et al. (Fri,) studied this question.