  In this review, we highlight the role of halogenated compounds in the
colloidal synthesis of nanostructured semiconductors. Halogen-containing
metallic salts used as precursors and halogenated hydrocarbons used as ligands
allow stabilizing different shapes and crystal phases, and enable the formation
of colloidal systems with different dimensionality. We summarize recent reports
on the tremendous influence of these compounds on the physical properties of
nanocrystals, like field-effect mobility and solar cell performance and outline
main analytical methods for the nanocrystal surface control.
