{Reference Type}: Journal Article {Title}: Precursor compound enabled formation of aqueous-phase CdSe magic-size clusters at room temperature {Author}: Zhao, Min; Chen, Qingyuan; Zhu, Yongcheng; Liu, Yuehui; Zhang, Chunchun; Jiang, Gang; Zhang, Meng; Kui, Yu {Journal}: Nano Research {ISBN/ISSN}: 1998-0124 {Year}: 2022 {Volume}: 15 {Issue}: 3 {Pages}: 2634-2642 {DOI}: 10.1007/s12274-021-3858-1 {Keywords}: self-assembly {Keywords}: aqueous magic-size cluster {Keywords}: precursor compound {Keywords}: formation pathway {Keywords}: precursor configuration {Abstract}: The formation pathway of aqueous-phase colloidal semiconductor magic-size clusters (MSCs) remains unrevealed. In the present work, we demonstrate, for the first time, a precursor compound (PC)-enabled formation pathway of aqueous-phase CdSe MSCs exhibiting a sharp absorption peaking at about 420 nm (MSC-420). The CdSe MSC-420 is synthesized with CdCl2 and selenourea as the respective Cd and Se sources, and with 3-mercaptopropionic acid or L-cysteine as a ligand. Absorption featureless CdSe PCs form first in the aqueous reaction batches, which transform to MSC-420 in the presence of primary amines. The coordination between primary amine and Cd2+ on PCs may be responsible to the PC-to-MSC transformation. Upon increasing the reactant concentrations or decreasing the CdCl2-ligand feed molar ratios, the Cd precursor self-assembles into large aggregates, which may encapsulate the resulting CdSe PCs and inhibit their transformation to MSC-420. The present study sheds essential light on the syntheses and formation mechanisms of nanocrystals. {URL}: https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.1007/s12274-021-3858-1 {Language}: en