Abstract Germanium nanocrystals (Ge NCs) have recently attracted renewed scientific interest as environmentally friendlier alternatives to classical II–VI and IV–VI QDs containing toxic elements such as Hg, Cd and Pb. Importantly, Ge NCs are nontoxic, biocompatible, and electrochemically stable. An essential requirement is the ability to prepare Ge NCs with narrow size distributions and well characterized surface chemistry, as these define many of their photophysical properties. However, a thorough discussion on these criteria has not been achieved to date. Here, size, surface control, and mechanisms for light emission in Ge NCs are discussed and their exciting recent applications are highlighted. The beneficial properties of Ge NCs suggest that this material can improve the performance of numerous devices like solar cells, photodetectors, and lithium ion batteries.

中文翻译：

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锗纳米晶的最新进展：合成、光学特性和应用

摘要 锗纳米晶体 (Ge NCs) 作为含有有毒元素（如 Hg、Cd 和 Pb）的经典 II-VI 和 IV-VI 量子点的环保替代品，最近引起了新的科学兴趣。重要的是，Ge NCs 无毒、生物相容且电化学稳定。一个基本要求是能够制备具有窄尺寸分布和良好表征的表面化学的 Ge NCs，因为这些定义了它们的许多光物理特性。然而，迄今为止，尚未对这些标准进行彻底的讨论。在这里，讨论了 Ge NCs 中的尺寸、表面控制和发光机制，并强调了它们最近令人兴奋的应用。Ge NCs 的有益特性表明，这种材料可以提高许多设备的性能，如太阳能电池、光电探测器、