To broaden the potential purposes of colloidal quantum dots, sustainable artificial protocols have to be developed and optimised. On this report, we use a low-temperature water-based synthesis of Cu–In–Zn–S quantum dots (CIZS) and we analyse the impact of various ligands (citrate, ascorbate, glutathione, cysteine and mercapto-acetic acid) on crystal progress and composition. The ligands employed have a powerful impact on the metallic incorporation inside the nanocrystal, resulting in vast tunability of the photophysical behaviour of the ensuing CIZS quantum dots.
