Multiple-structured nanocrystals towards bifunctional photoluminescent- superhydrophobic surfaces

We report a simple and efficient strategy for the preparation of diverse hierarchical structures of dithiocarbamate-functionalized CdS nanocrystals (NCs) exhibiting both photoluminescent and hydrophobic properties via a facile interfacial self-assembly technique. The ligand exchange reaction of thioglycolic acid (TGA) with dithiocarbamates at the biphase interface endowed CdS with diversiform morphologies. Simultaneously, the resulting dithiocarbamate-functionalized NCs after interfacial self-assembly exhibit good photochemical stability and enhanced photoluminescence (PL) in comparison with the parent NCs. Moreover, the introduction of dithiocarbamate ligands with long alkyl chains can significantly enhance the hydrophobic properties of NCs in this case. By simply varying the directing ligands with different intrinsic hydrophobic natures, superhydrophobic surfaces constructed from the fluorescent NCs can be fabricated.