Structural, optical and electrical properties of self-assembled films of PbSe nanocrystals treated with 1,2-ethanedithiol

We describe the structural, optical, and electrical properties of high-quality films of PbSe nanocrystals fabricated by a layer-by-layer (LbL) dip-coating method that utilizes 1,2-ethanedithiol (EDT) as an insolubilizing agent. Comparative characterization of nanocrystal films made by spin-coating and by the LbL process shows that EDT quantitatively displaces oleic acid on the PbSe surface, causing a large volume loss that electronically couples the nanocrystals while severely degrading their positional and crystallographic order of the films. Field-effect transistors based on EDT-treated films are moderately conductive and ambipolar in the dark, becoming p-type and 30-60 times more conductive under 300 mW cm(-2) broadband illumination. The nanocrystal films oxidize rapidly in air to yield, after short air exposures, highly conductive p-type solids. The LbL process described here is a general strategy for producing uniform, conductive nanocrystal films for applications in optoelectronics and solar energy conversion.