Synthesis of TlBr and Tl₂AgBr₃ Nanocrystals

Abstract There are only a few examples of nanocrystal synthesis with thallium (Tl). Here, we report the synthesis of uniform, ligand‐stabilized colloidal nanocrystals of TlBr and Tl₂AgBr₃ nanocrystals with average diameter ranging between 10 and 20 nm. TlBr nanocrystals are made by hot injection of trimethylsilyl bromide (TMSBr) into solutions of oleylamine, oleic acid and octadecene with thallium (III) or thallium (I) acetate. Tl₂AgBr₃ nanocrystals form when silver (I) acetate is included in the reaction. The TlBr nanocrystals have CsCl crystal structure with a direct band gap of 3.1 eV. The Tl₂AgBr₃ nanocrystals have trigonal dolomite crystal structure with an indirect band gap of 3.1 eV. The TlBr nanocrystals made with thallium (III) were sufficiently uniform to assemble into face‐centered cubic (fcc) superlattices.