Aqueous-phase semiconductor CdTe magic-size clusters (MSCs) have not been reported. Here, we report the first synthesis of aqueous-phase CdTe MSCs and propose that they evolve from their nonabsorbing precursor compounds (PCs). CdCl₂ and Na₂TeO₃ are used as the respective Cd and Te sources, with l-cysteine as a ligand and NaBH₄ as a reductant. When a 5 °C reaction mixture is dispersed in butylamine (BTA), CdTe MSCs evolve. We argue that the self-assembly of the Cd and Te precursors followed by the formation of the Cd–Te covalent bond inside each assembly results in one CdTe PC, which quasi-isomerizes to one CdTe MSC in the presence of BTA. At higher temperatures such as 25 °C, the PCs fragmentize, assisting the nucleation and growth of CdTe quantum dots. We introduce a novel synthetic approach to aqueous-phase CdTe PCs, which transform to CdTe MSCs in the presence of primary amines.

中文翻译：

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水相 CdTe 魔术尺寸团簇从其前体化合物的演变

水相半导体 CdTe 魔术尺寸团簇 (MSC) 尚未见报道。在这里，我们报告了水相 CdTe MSC 的首次合成，并提出它们是从它们的非吸收性前体化合物 (PC) 演变而来的。CdCl ₂和Na ₂ TeO ₃被用作各自的Cd和Te源，以l-半胱氨酸作为配体和NaBH ₄作为还原剂。当 5 °C 的反应混合物分散在丁胺 (BTA) 中时，CdTe MSCs 会产生。我们认为，Cd 和 Te 前体的自组装随后在每个组件内部形成 Cd-Te 共价键会产生一个 CdTe PC，它在 BTA 存在下准异构化为一个 CdTe MSC。在 25 °C 等较高温度下，PC 会碎裂，从而有助于 CdTe 量子点的成核和生长。我们介绍了一种新的水相 CdTe PC 合成方法，它在伯胺存在的情况下转化为 CdTe MSC。