Secondary treatment of films of colloidal quantum dots for optoelectronics and devices produced thereby

A method of forming a solar cell comprising:

• providing a substrate;
• forming a first electrode in contact with the substrate;
• contacting the first electrode with a ligand exchange chemical and contacting the first electrode with a quantum dot (QD) colloid over one or more cycles to form an initial QD film in contact with the first electrode;
• contacting the initial QD film with a secondary treatment chemical;
• and
• forming a second electrode in contact with the initial QD film, not in contact with the first electrode.

A solar cell comprising:

• a first electrode;
• a QD active layer in electrical contact with the first electrode providing for multiple exciton generation (MEG) upon absorption of photons by the QD active layer;
• and
• a second electrode in electrical contact with the QD active layer.