Postsynthetic Size Focusing via Digestive Ripening in HgTe Quantum Dots

Size uniformity in colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) critically influences their electronic properties. However, achieving precise size control remains challenging for mercury chalcogenide systems. We demonstrate that a postsynthetic reheating treatment with the addition of dodecanethiol (DDT) ligands, consistent with a digestive ripening mechanism, effectively narrows the size distribution of HgTe CQDs from 12% to 6%, accompanied by enhanced crystallinity and sharper absorption features. Significantly, this improved structural uniformity leads to a 10-fold reduction in intrinsic carrier density from 2.3 × 10