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Here, a direct one-pot aqueous synthesis of dihydrolipoic acid (DHLA)-capped CuInS\n                    <jats:sub>2<\/jats:sub>\n                    (CIS) QDs is presented, enabling simultaneous nanocrystal growth and surface passivation under mild conditions (75\u00a0\u00b0C) without ligand exchange. Ligand-control experiments using ligand-free and 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA)-capped CIS QDs confirm the role of DHLA in improving photoluminescence (PL) efficiency, colloidal stability, and chalcopyrite-related diffraction features. The optimized QDs exhibit sizes of 2.5\u20135.0\u00a0nm and broad defect-mediated PL centered at 580\u00a0nm, with a PL quantum yield (PLQY) of ~\u20099%. Time-resolved PL (TRPL) analysis further supports long-lived donor\u2013acceptor-type recombination involving In\n                    <jats:sub>Cu<\/jats:sub>\n                    -related donor and V\n                    <jats:sub>Cu<\/jats:sub>\n                    -related acceptor states. PL modulation by urea shows an approximately linear concentration-dependent response over 0\u20135.0 mM, with a sensitivity of 0.0850 mM\n                    <jats:sup>\u2212\u20091<\/jats:sup>\n                    and an estimated detection limit of 0.64 mM, without measurable spectral shift. Selectivity and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analyses indicate a preferential surface-mediated response toward urea through weak non-covalent interactions. This work establishes a reproducible strategy for defect-controlled aqueous CIS QDs and supports their use in surface-sensitive PL modulation studies.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-026-58287-3","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,11]],"date-time":"2026-07-11T16:04:52Z","timestamp":1783785892000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["One-pot aqueous synthesis of DHLA-capped CuInS2 quantum dots with defect-mediated photoluminescence"],"prefix":"10.1038","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Eslam","family":"Hassan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Moataz","family":"Soliman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shaker","family":"Ebrahim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jehan EL","family":"Nady","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"58287_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"216423","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ccr.2024.216423","volume":"528","author":"SC Lims","year":"2025","unstructured":"Lims, S. 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