Tapping the potential of trioctylphosphine (TOP) in the realization of highly luminescent blue-emitting colloidal indium phosphide (InP) quantum dots

Highlights: • Synthesis of blue-emitting InP-based QDs using TOP as P-source reported first time. • TOP acts as a ligand & reducing agent as well in addition to P-source. • TOP is relatively greener, less toxic & easily available than conventional (P(SiMe₃)₃). • Our single pot synthesis method is fast, controllable & generates high-quality InP QDs. • Here, In metal cleavages P–C bond in TOP, liberates P & facilitates growth of InP QDs. In this work, extremely small blue emitting colloidal InP-based quantum dots (size ~ 2–5 nm) have been synthesized using trioctylphosphine (TOP) as a source of phosphorus. The method reported here is unconventional, quite rapid (~90 min), more viable, less expensive and relatively greener as compared to other conventional methods that employ tristrimethylsilyylphosphine(P(SiMe₃)₃) which is scarce, expensive, flammable, highly toxic and even banned in a few countries. Highly luminescent InP QDs having bluish-green emission (λ~ 490 nm) can be synthesized using this method without resorting to any post-synthesis etching to tune the emission to the blue region. Besides being the source of phosphorus and the particle size regulating agent, the efficacy of TOP is further realized during synthesis via its reduction of indium salt, which aids in the formation of indium metal and then subsequently in the development of InP QDs. The PL intensity of as-synthesized InP QDs is further enhanced by growing a shell of wide band gap material, i.e. ZnS resulting in a concurrent increment in quantum yield from ~25% to ~38% respectively.