‘Clickable’ ZnO nanocrystals: the superiority of a novel organometallic approach over the inorganic sol–gel procedure

Agnieszka Grala,^a Małgorzata Wolska-Pietkiewicz,^b Wojciech Danowski,^b Zbigniew Wróbel,^a Justyna Grzonka,^cd Janusz Lewiński^ab

^a Faculty of Chemistry, Warsaw University of Technology, Noakowskiego 3, 00-664 Warsaw, Poland
^b Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44/52, 01-224 Warsaw, Poland
^c Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, Wołoska 141, 02-507 Warsaw, Poland
^d Institute of Electronic Materials Technology, Wolczynska 133, 01-919 Warsaw, Poland.

DOI: 10.1039/C6CC01430E
First published online 03 May 2016.
Cover of Chem. Commun.
Paper on the publisher's website
For more info have a look at the press release.

We demonstrate for the first time a highly efficient Cu(I)-catalyzed alkyne–azide cycloaddition reaction on the surface of ZnO nanocrystals with retention of their photoluminescence properties. Our comparative studies highlight the superiority of a novel self-supporting organometallic method for the preparation of brightly luminescent and well-passivated ZnO nanocrystals over the traditional sol–gel procedure.

Two of the authors of the paper: Agnieszka "Impermeable" Grala and Gosia "Leaky" Wolska. Photo: Grzegorz Krzyżewski / IChF PAN