Accelerated Multi-Stage Synthesis of Indium Phosphide Quantum Dots in Modular Flow Reactors

Abstract

Development and scalable nanomanufacturing of high-quality heavy metal-free quantum dots (QDs) with high-dimensional experimental design spaces still remain a challenge. In this work, a universal flow chemistry framework for accelerated fundamental and applied studies of heavy metal-free QDs with multi-stage chemistries is presented. By introducing flexible time- and temperature-to-distance transformation using modular fluidic blocks, an in-flow synthetic route of InP QDs with the highest reported first excitonic absorption peak to valley ratio is unveiled with a reaction time one order of magnitude faster than batch reactors. The flexible time- and temperature-to-distance transformation as an enabling factor for generalization of flow reactors toward the accelerated discovery, development, and nanomanufacturing of high-quality emerging nanomaterials for next-generation energy, display, and chemical technologies is discussed.