Doped InP Magic-Sized Clusters

Magic-sized clusters (MSCs) can be isolated as intermediates in quantum dot (QD) synthesis, and they provide pivotal clues in understanding QD growth mechanisms. Two families are introduced that have chlorine or zinc incorporated InP MSCs. In each family line, different MSCs could be either directly synthesized or could be converted from one to another. As the conversion proceeded, evolution from uni-molecule-like to QD-like characters was observed. Early stage MSCs showed active interstate conversions in the excited states, which is characteristics of small molecules. Later stage MSCs exhibited narrow photoinduced absorptions at lower-energy region like QDs. The crystal structure also gradually evolved from polytwistane to more zinc-blende. Other halide doped InP MSCs and Ga doped MSCs will be also discussed. MSCs show many interesting properties such as isomerization induced by adsorption of small molecules. Reversible and dramatic isomerization of MSCs will be introduced. Chiral properties of MSCs will be also discussed.