https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220725124113.htm

Today, technological advancements in semiconductor nanocrystals are currently ongoing. For example, quantum dots and wires from semiconducting materials are of great interest in displays, photocatalytic, and other electronic devices. However, numerous aspects of the colloidal nanocrystals are still remaining to be understood at the fundamental level. An important one among them is the elucidation of the molecular-level mechanisms of the formation and growth of the nanocrystals.

These semiconducting nanocrystals are grown starting from tiny individual precursors made of a small number of atoms. These precursors are called "nanoclusters." Isolation and molecular structure determination of such nanoclusters (or simply clusters) have been the subject of immense interest in the past several decades. The structural details of clusters, typical nuclei of the nanocrystals, are anticipated to provide critical insights into the evolution of the properties of the nanocrystals.