Microwave Irradiation Synthesis Of Metal Selenides Semiconductor Nanocrystals With Regular Shapes

Sb2Se3 nanorods with a flat cross section were synthesized through the microwave-enhanced reaction between selenium powders and sodium antimony tartrate. Microwave irradiation greatly shortened the reaction time, which made the cycle to be as short as 30 minutes. The intrinsic mechanism for the formation of the nanorods with a flat cross section is related to the direction of the unique layer-structured structure of orthorhombic Sb2Se3.High-quality Cu3Se2 nanoplates were synthesized in a large scale through microwave-enhanced reaction between selenium and copper(I) oleate. The nanoplates are approximately round with thickness of 17 nm and the diameter in the range of 700-1000 nm. The distinct shape of the nanoplates provides an ideal site for combining functional units, and as an example, carboxyl-terminated CdTe quantum dots were adsorbed onto Cu3Se2 nanoplates to form Cu3Se2-CdTe nanocluster by the chemical linkage of carboxyl to Cu. The fabricated nanoclusters exhibit an enhanced photovoltaic property.A microwave-assisted phosphine-free route was reported for the shape-controlled synthesis of CdSe multipods with a high yield and good crystallinity, which only needs a period of 10 minutes. Cd(NO3)2 and selenium powders were used as the raw materials in the preparation, which is safer and greener relative to the commonly used trioctylphosphine-based precursors for synthesizing CdSe tetrapods. By introducing capping agents with different polarities, the morphology of CdSe nanocrystals could vary from tetrapods to hexapods, octapods, and more complex multipods. The present microwave irradiation route should provide an alternative to the rapid and controlled growth of other important selenides with distinct morphologies.