Figure 2.

Summary of the main processes and related energy changes that occur upon charge localization to surface Cd in an electron charged CdSe QD. (i) ΔE_trap: during charge localization, the two CB electrons can lower their energy by falling into the Cd-localized in-gap state. (ii) ΔE_bind: concomitant ejection of the reduced Cd atom from the (111) facet will cost energy by disrupting the surrounding CdSe lattice and weakening the binding to ligands (here indicated as “L”). (iii) ΔE_solv: lastly, localization to surface Cd will change the charge distribution, leading to readjustments of the solvent interaction.