@article{Li2026, 
author = {Xiaofei Li and Seungkwon Jeon and Zihan Wang and Seungmin Jeong and Zhixiang Gui and Yinglin Wang and Chao Wang and Hao Li and Xiaochen Guo and Yanlong Lu and Jiabao Lu and Lingling Wang and Heedae Kim and Xintong Zhang and Yichun Liu},
title = {Vapor-assisted pre-solvation for stable and solution-processable quantum dot conductive ink},
year = {2026},
journal = {Nano Research},
keywords = {stability, quantum dots, ink, solution processability},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/NR.2026.94908957},
doi = {10.26599/NR.2026.94908957},
abstract = {The development of high-performance, stable quantum dot (QD) inks is critical yet challenging for advancing the efficiency and scalability of next-generation solution-processed optoelectronic devices. Inorganic lead iodide ligands passivated lead sulfide QDs (PbS-PbI2) have been attractive for their superior surface passivation and strong inter-dot coupling. However, the state-of-the-art inks typically require strongly coordinating alkylamine solvents to dissociate and solvate the PbI2 ligand, yet these solvents can continuously etch the QDs, leading to rapid ink degradation within a few hours. Herein, an amine-vapor pre-solvation strategy is proposed using a facile butylamine (BA) vapor (<10 min) pretreatment of QDs, enabling stable dispersion of QDs in BA-free solvents (e.g., N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and propylene carbonate). The resulting QD inks remain stable for >60 days with no variation in QD size, while QD films exhibit reduced trap-related losses. Solar cells processed from 60-day-aged NMP inks retain 90% of their initial power conversion efficiency (12.1%), whereas BA-based inks degrade within hours, reducing their device efficiency from 11% to 0.3% after only 4 hours of aging. The shelf-stable NMP ink further enables large-area blade-coating of uniform PbS-PbI2 films, manifesting the potential in scalable manufacturing of high-performance QD optoelectronic devices.}
}