Synthesis of Zwitterionic CsPbBr 3 Nanocrystals with Controlled Anisotropy Using Surface-Selective Ligand Pairs.

Mechanistic studies of the morphology of lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (LHP-NCs) are hampered by a lack of generalizable suitable synthetic strategies and ligand systems. Here, we present the synthesis of zwitterionic CsPbBr 3 NCs with controlled anisotropy using a proposed "surface-selective ligand pairs" strategy. Such strategy provides a platform to systematically study the binding affinity of capping ligand pairs and the resulting LHP morphologies. By using zwitterionic ligands (ZwL) with varying structures, we have obtained majority ZwL-capped LHP NCs with controlled morphology, including anisotropic nanoplatelets and nanorods, for the first time. Combining experiments with density functional theory calculations, we reveal factors that govern the ligand binding on the different surface facets of LHP-NCs, including the steric bulkiness of the ligand, the number of binding sites, and the charge distance between binding moieties. Our study provides guidance for the further exploration of anisotropic LHP-NCs. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.