Colloidal nanocrystals: Viable model systems for electronic quantum materials?

Jara F. Vliem, Jesper R. Moes, Ingmar Swart, Daniel Vanmaekelbergh*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

The field of colloidal nanocrystals has witnessed enormous progress in the last three decades. For many families of nanocrystals, wet-chemical syntheses have been developed that allow control over the crystal shape and dimensions, from the three-dimensional down to the zero-dimensional case. Additionally, careful control of surface chemistry has enabled the prevention of non-radiative recombination, thus allowing the detailed study of confined charge carriers and excitons. This has led to a vast amount of applications of nanocrystals in displays, labels, and lighting. Here, we discuss how this expertise could benefit the rapidly advancing field of quantum materials, where the coherence of electronic wave functions is key. We demonstrate that colloidal two-dimensional nanocrystals can serve as excellent model systems for studying topological phase transitions, particularly in the case of quantum spin Hall and topological crystalline insulators. We aim to inspire researchers with strong chemical expertise to explore the exciting field of quantum materials. (Figure presented.)

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)10511-10524
Number of pages14
JournalNano Research
Volume17
Issue number12
Early online date21 Nov 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.

Funding

D. V. and I. S. acknowledge the research program "Materials for the Quantum Age" (QuMat) for financial support. This program (registration number 024.005.006) is part of the Gravitation program financed by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW). I. S. and J. V. wish to acknowledge the ERC Consolidator Grant (Horizon 2020 "FRACTAL", Grant 865570) for financial help. The computer chip of the TOC figure was generated with DALL<middle dot>E 3 using the prompt: "Cartoon style green computer chip".

FundersFunder number
Research program "Materials for the Quantum Age" (QuMat)
Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW)024.005.006
ERC Consolidator Grant (Horizon 2020 "FRACTAL")865570

    Keywords

    • colloidal nanocrystals
    • edge/surface states
    • quantum materials
    • topological insulators

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