Nanocrystal ligand exchange with 1,2,3,4-thiatriazole-5-thiolate and its facile in situ conversion to thiocyanate.

The 1,2,3,4-thiatriazole-5-thiolate anion (TTT(-)) was found to be a strongly binding ligand for CdSe nanocrystals, quantitatively exchanging various long-chain ligands to yield stable colloidal suspensions in common polar solvents. The TTT(-) ligand thermolyzes at <100 °C to produce thiocyanate in situ, resulting in reduced quantum confinement in nanocrystal films. CdSe(TTT) possesses far higher colloidal stability than CdSe(SCN), and that, together with the facile synthesis of TTT(-), implies that this is a useful ligand for nanocrystal applications as a masked thiocyanate.