Manipulating surface ligands of Copper Sulfide nanocrystals: Synthesis, characterization, and application to organic solar cells

CuS NCs were synthesized via a facile sol-gel method without post-thermal treatment. The as-prepared CuS NCs were analyzed and confirmed by XRD, HR-TEM, EDS and XPS as hexagonal covellite CuS. The average diameter of the samples was about 3 nm with narrow size distribution. CuS NCs can form a thin and smooth film without ligand-exchange that can be used as hole transport layer in organic solar cell. These hydrophilic CuS NCs with pyridine ligands can be exchanged with OAm and OA rapidly at room temperature and present hydrophobic characteristic, resulting in forming oil-soluble CuS NCs. This makes it possible tuning the surface property of CuS NCs and has the potential application for different fields. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.