Silicon Nanocrystals: Size-Dependent Oxidation of Monodisperse Silicon Nanocrystals with Allylphenylsulfide Surfaces (Small 3/2015)

Adding a sulfur atom to allylbenzene is shown by J. Rinck, G. A. Ozin, and co-workers to boost the photoluminescence quantum yield of colloidal dispersions of silicon nanocrystals capped with allylphenylsulfide. On page 335, it allows investigation of their oxidative stability as a function of size and duration of exposure to air. The illustration depicts the allyphenylsulfide capping groups on the surface of the silicon nanocrystals, and the reaction of the nanocrystals with O2 and H2O molecules in air, forming surface silicon oxide and silicon hydroxide groups.