Quantum confined nanomaterials have become an important field of study with many applications from color displays to low-energy alternative lighting sources. Discovered in the early 1980s, these semiconducting nanocrystals continue to draw attention; their unique properties differ from their bulk counterpart’s due to a quantum confinement effect rising from their small nanometer-scale size. Indium phosphide (InP), a group III-V semiconductor, is a promising nontoxic, environmentally innocuous material. My research is currently focused on investigating the implications of destabilizing kinetic InP intermediates. I explore how creating small nuclei with the same zinc-blende structure as quantum dots (QDs) can potentially lead to unique shelling applications to increase photoluminescence (PL) and color purity. I have developed a synthesis employing a destabilizing additive to yield the small nuclei, which I then shell with zinc chalcogenides to produce luminescent core-shell QDs. I characterize all material via UV-vis and emission spectroscopy as well as powder X-ray diffraction. My goal is to optimize the shelling procedure to produce QDs suitable for use in the market, particularly as blue emitters with a narrow emission range and high PL quantum yield. In optimizing this process, I can contribute meaningfully to the nanocrystal field and the display industry by presenting a unique strategy for making small materials through careful control over crystal phases.

Exhibiting high photoluminescence quantum yield, tunable surface functionalization and well-defined emission linewidths, colloidal semiconductor nanostructures are promising materials for a wide range of applications from lignocellulosic depolymerization to low power nonlinear optics. In past decades, synthesis of zero-dimensional (quantum dots) and one-dimensional (nanorods) systems has attracted much interest. In contrast, the potential of two-dimensional (nanoplatelets) and three-dimensional (nanotetrapods) structures remains to be tapped. As a consequence of their anisotropic morphology, the tunable emission frequency and linewidth of nanoplatelets and nanotetrapods renders them excellent candidates for single-photon emitters in devices such as hybrid photonic integrated circuits. Integrated photonics are devices that utilize light-matter coupling with embedded light-emitting media to achieve state-of-art engineering processes like ultralow threshold lasing and quantum many-body simulations. However, it remains a challenge to find suitable photoluminescent agents with outstanding desirable features. The subject of this research presents a solution to this problem—nanotetrapods and nanoplatelets used for coupling to the nanocavities in the integrated circuits. Owing to their tunable surface chemistry, nanotetrapods and nanoplatelets have the potential to be optimized for efficient processing with photonic cavities, with clear pathways for deterministic positioning. Moreover, the structures’ adjustable sizes and dimensions allow for maximization of single-photon behavior, including high quantum yield and narrow emission linewidth. Herein, I report the seeded-synthesis of several II-VI and III-V nanotetrapods and two approaches to growing nanoplatelets via a solution-phase decomposition procedure and the colloidal atomic layer deposition pathway. To understand both the spectral and structural properties of the nanostructures, I characterize the products by UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy as well as transmission electron microscopy. By exploring different routes to synthesizing the highly absorbing and emissive anisotropic colloidal nanostructures and investigating strategies for modifying the materials’ surface chemistry, it will be possible to achieve specialized spectral functionalities with these nanostructures.