Advantages and Challenges of Deep Eutectic Solvents Applied to the Hot Injection Synthesis of Zinc Selenide Quantum Dots

Abstract

ZnSe quantum dots synthesized by the hot injection method usually require high reaction temperature and time as well as conventional solvents and ligands such as octadecene and oleic acid. On the other hand, deep eutectic solvents (DESs) offer milder synthesis conditions and an environmentally friendly approach. This study aims to evaluate the viability of DESs as alternative reaction media for the synthesis of ZnSe nanoparticles, combining the hot injection method with a design of experiments (DoE) approach to understand how the synthetic parameters influence the properties of the resulting quantum dots. The successfully synthesized ZnSe quantum dots (QD) using DES were characterized by XRD, UV–vis, and SAXS techniques, and the influence of DES type on crystal size and bandgap was evaluated by DoE analysis. Our results confirm the viability of DES for ZnSe QDs synthesis, with significant reductions in reaction temperature and time. However, the limited stabilizing capacity of DES remains a challenge. This study highlights the potential of DES as an alternative solvent for the synthesis of ZnSe QDs while also indicating the need for further refinement of their stabilizing properties.

DESs enable greener, faster, low-temperature ZnSe QDs synthesis. The stabilization capacity is still limited, but the diversity of DES offers room for further optimization.