A Raman study of CdSe and ZnSe nanostructures

Raman studies have been carried out on CdSe nanotubes and ZnSe nanorods produced by surfactant-assisted synthesis. The Raman spectrum of CdSe nanotubes shows modes at 207.5 and 198 cm-1; the former arises from the longitudinal optic phonon mode red-shifted with respect to the bulk mode because of phonon confinement, and the latter is the l = 1 surface phonon. Analysis based on the phonon confinement model demonstrates that the size of the nanoparticle responsible for the red-shift is about 4 nm, close to the estimate from the blue-shift of the photoluminescence. The Raman spectrum of ZnSe nanorods shows modes at 257 and 213 cm-1, assigned to longitudinal and transverse optic phonons, blue-shifted with respect to the bulk ZnSe modes because of compressive strain. The mode at 237 cm-1 is the surface phonon.     

Low temperature synthesis of ZnSe nanoparticles

Synthesis of thioglycerol capped zinc selenide nanoparticles with a relatively narrow size distribution by a simple and inexpensive low temperature (~ 80 °C) wet chemical method is reported here. Main advantage of this method is the use of non-toxic precursors. The size of the nanoparticles can be varied easily by changing the concentration of the capping agent. The extracted nanoparticles remain stable under normal atmospheric conditions and can be redispersed in suitable solvents. The sharp absorption features obtained in the UV-Visible absorption spectra reveal the formation of monodispersed ZnSe nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy, photoluminescence and transmission electron microscopy.     

Synthesis and Ex situ doping of ZnTe and ZnSe nanostructures with extreme aspect ratios

We report synthesis windows for growth of millimeter-long ZnTe nanoribbons and ZnSe nanowires using vapor transport. By tuning the local conditions at the growth substrate, high aspect ratio nanostructures can be synthesized. A Cu-ion immersion doping method was applied, producing strongly p-type conduction in ZnTe and ionic conduction in ZnSe. These extreme aspect ratio wide-bandgap semiconductors have great potential for high density nanostructured optoelectronic circuits.      

Synthesis of ZnSe quantum dots and ZnSe-ZnS core/shell nanostructures

Colloidal ZnSe nanocrystals were synthesized in hot mixtures of long-chain alkylamines, fatty acids, and alkylphosphines. It was possible to tune the size of nanocrystals by varying the reaction time. Transmission electron microscope images showed the presence of spherical ZnSe nanocrystals and X-ray diffraction pattern of ZnSe nanocrystals showed the existence of both the crystalline phase, namely, wurtzite and zinc blende. The ZnSe nanocrystals were then passivated with higher band gap ZnS; this lead to a 2.6-fold enhancement in the integrated photoluminescence intensity of ZnSe nanocrystals. We also synthesized the reverse type core/shell ZnS/ZnSe nanocrystals. These exhibited a significant red shift in the absorption edge after coating with a thin ZnSe shell.     

Focal shift and extended focal depth with tunable pupil filter

Extended focal depth and focal shift are very important in microscopy, imaging and optical storage systems, and have attracted much attention in recent years. In order to obtain the extended focal depth and focal shift, a new kind of tunable pupil filter is proposed in this article. It consists of one half-wave plate between two quarter-wave plates, and the half-wave plate is made up of two zones that can rotate with respect to each other. By analyzing the intensity distribution in the focal region of the optical system with such a device, it reveals that focal shift can be realized by rotating any zone of the half-wave plate. When the phase difference of the two zones is π, the extended focal depth and transverse superresolution can be obtained at the same time. Therefore, it may be feasible to use such a tunable pupil filter in optical systems that need focal shift and extended focal depth.     

One-pot room temperature synthesis of biopolymer-capped ZnSe nanoparticles

The synthesis of monodispersed, starch-capped ZnSe nanoparticles via a facile, “green” and environmentally benign route at room temperature is being reported. The nanoparticles exhibited strong quantum confinement effect with respect to the bulk ZnSe. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image indicated that the particles were well dispersed and spherical in shape. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that the ZnSe nanoparticles were of the wurtzite structure, with average particle diameter of about 3.50 nm. The Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrum confirmed the presence of starch as passivating agent.     

Green lasers based on CdSe/ZnSe nanostructures pumped by electron beams with energies below 10 keV

We have studied the output characteristics of pulsed electron-beam-pumped green lasers based on ZnSe-containing quantum-sized structures with thin (20 nm thick) external ZnMgSSe confinement layers. Room-temperature lasing has been observed for electron beam energies above 3.7 keV. At a beam energy of 8–9 keV, the minimum threshold beam current density was 0.4–0.5 A/cm². The maximum laser output pulse energy was 2 W at a pumping electron beam energy of ～5 kW.     

Room temperature aqueous synthesis of bipyramidal silver nanostructures

The proposed strategy demonstrates a simple method to synthesize the pentagonal right bipyramidal silver nanostructures in aqueous phase at room temperature. Aqueous synthesis enables the materials for direct use in biological systems. The sharp edges of silver nanostructures multiply SERS (surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy) signals by many folds. We have explored a combination of a cationic surfactant, namely, cetyl tri-methyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and a well-known polymer, polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) for capping preferential crystallographic facets of silver nanosurface. The structural transformation of these anisotropic nanostructures was studied by following various factors, such as, effect of Ag seed concentration, the ratio of concentration of CTAB to the concentration of silver nitrate, the effect of PVP, the ascorbic acid concentration dependence and the effect of pH. CTAB functions as template directing agent while PVP acts as a shape directing agent. Zeta potential measurements and Fourier Transform Infra-red (FTIR) spectral analysis reveal that PVP substitutes CTAB over the facets of silver nanobypiramids.     

Synthesis of thermally evaporated ZnSe thin film at room temperature

Zinc selenide (ZnSe) thin film on glass substrates were prepared by thermal evaporation under high vacuum using the quasi-closed volume technique at room temperature (300 ± 2 K). The deposited ZnSe properties were assessed via X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscope (AFM), UV-Vis specrophotometry, Raman spectroscopy, photo-luminescence, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and spectroscopic ellipsometry. The X-ray diffraction patterns of the film exhibited reflection corresponding to the cubic (111) phase (2θ = 27.20°). This analysis indicated that the sample is polycrystalline and have cubic (Zinc blende) structure. The crystallites were preferentially oriented with the (111) planes parallel to the substrates. The AFM images showed that the ZnSe films have smooth morphology with roughness 6.74 nm. The transmittance spectrum revealed a high transmission of 89% in the infrared region (≥ 600 nm) and a low transmission of 40% at 450 nm. The maximum transmission of 89.6% was observed at 640 nm. Optical band-gap was calculated from the transmission data of specrophotometry, photo-luminescence and ellipsometry and was 2.76, 2.74 and 2.82 eV respectively. Raman spectroscopic studies revealed two longitudinal optical phonon modes at 252 cm ^-1 and 500 cm ^-1. In photoluminescence study, the luminescence peaks was observed at 452 nm corresponding to band to band emission. FT-IR study illustrated the existence of Zn-Se bonding in ZnSe thin film. The optical constants were calculated using spectroscopic ellipsometry and were determined from the best fit ellipsometric data in the wavelength regime of interest from 370-1000 nm. These results manifested excellent room temperature ZnSe synthesis and characteristics for opto-electronics technologies.     

Low temperature pH dependent synthesis of flower-like ZnO nanostructures with enhanced photocatalytic activity

In the present study we have synthesized flower-like ZnO nanostructures comprising of nanobelts of 20 nm width by template and surfactant free low-temperature (4 °C) aqueous solution route. The ZnO nanostructures exhibit flower-like morphology, having crystalline hexagonal wurtzite structure with (0 0 1) orientation. The flowers with size between 600 and 700 nm consist of ZnO units having crystallite size of ∼40 nm. Chemical and structural characterization reveals a significant role of precursor:ligand molar ratio, pH, and temperature in the formation of single-step flower-like ZnO at low temperature. Plausible growth mechanism for the formation of flower-like structure has been discussed in detail. Photoluminescence studies confirm formation of ZnO with the defects in crystal structure. The flower-like ZnO nanostructures exhibit enhanced photochemical degradation of methylene blue (MB) with the increased concentration of ligand, indicating attribution of structural features in the photocatalytic properties.     

Preparation temperature effect on the synthesis of various carbon nanostructures

Various carbon nanostructures (CNs) have been prepared by a simple deposition technique based on the pyrolysis of a new carbon source material tetrahydrofuran (THF) mixed with ferrocene using quartz tube reactor in the temperature range 700–1100 °C. A detailed study of how the synthesis parameter such as growth temperature affects the morphology of the carbon nanostructures is presented. The obtained CNs are investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron dispersive scattering (EDS), thermogravimetry analysis (TGA), Raman and transmission electron microscope (TEM). It is observed that at 700 °C, normal CNTs are formed. Iron filled multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and carbon nanoribbons (CNRs) are formed at 950 °C. Magnetic characterization of iron filled MWCNTs and CNRs studied at 300 K by superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) reveals that these nanostructures have an enhanced coercivity (Hc = 1049 Oe) higher than that of bulk Fe. The large shape anisotropy of MWCNTs, which act on the encapsulated material (Fe), is attributed for the contribution of the higher coercivity. Coiled carbon nanotubes (CCNTs) were obtained as main products in large quantities at temperature 1100 °C.     

Phase morphology effect on elevated temperature mechanical behavior of nanostructures

A devitrification procedure by annealing was applied to a multicomponent Fe-based metallic glass in order to obtain nanocrystalline materials. Phase composition and phase morphology were strongly dependent on the annealing conditions. An elevated temperature mechanical behavior of nanostructures was evaluated by tensile testing. A strong effect of phase morphology on the mechanical response of the material was revealed. A most attractive combination of strength and plasticity was observed in the nanostructure with approximately equal grain sizes of crystallized phases.     

Anions effect on the low temperature growth of ZnO nanostructures

Seed mediated aqueous chemical growth (ACG) route was used for the growth of ZnO nanostructures on Si substrate in four different growth mediums. The growth medium has shown to affect the morphology and the size of the different nanostructures. We observed that the medium containing zinc nitrate anions yields the nanorods, in a medium containing zinc acetate anions nano-candles are obtained. While in a medium containing zinc chloride anions ZnO nano-discs were obtained and in a medium containing zinc sulfate anions nano-flakes are achieved. Growth in these different mediums has also shown effect on the optical emission characteristics of the different ZnO nanostructures.     

Importance of initial nucleation step on low temperature photoassisted MOVPE growth of ZnSe

In this work, low temperature photoassisted metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) growth of ZnSe on GaAs was carried out using dimethylzinc (DMZn) as the Zn precursor and dimethylselnium (DMSe) or diethylselnium (DESe) as the Se precursor at atmospheric pressure under H₂ carrier gas, using the 458 nm wavelength from an Ar⁺ laser. In situ laser interferometry showed that the growth rate for thin films is non-linear and was explained in terms of the efficiency of coupling of the photo-irradiation with the growing film. The growth rate (GR) can be described by GR = P F (1 – exp (– d)) where is the photo-chemical quantum efficiency, d is the film thickness, F is a structural factor, P is the laser intensity and is the absorption coefficient. In situ laser interferometry has been essential in making these measurements to observe the initial non-linearity and ensure that characteristic growth rates are taken from steady state growth. Growth using DMSe as the Se precursor was very photosensitive due to its higher photochemical quantum efficiency arising from the additional source of CH ₃ ^. radicals. These layers were mostly rough due to the slight variation in laser intensity across a region giving different degree of enhancement which is magnified by the growth rate non-linearity leading to non-uniform, and roughened growth. In the case of growth using DESe, it was possible to grow an initial nucleation layer of ZnSe pyrolyticaly prior to photo-assisted growth which ensured that there was sufficient thickness, d, of ZnSe such that the exponential term in the above equation became negligible and the growth rate was dependent only on the linear terms. The slight variation in laser intensity across the surface does not then cause a very significant variation in growth rate, thus maintaining smooth morphology and uniform growth rate.     

Wetting temperature shift of helium on a layered substrate

We calculate the shift in wetting temperature T_W of a He film on a layered substrate. The latter consists of an alkali metal layer film of thickness d, deposited on a semi-infinite medium. T_W can change from nonzero to zero (Cs) or vice versa (Na) as d changes. The shift is an extremely sensitive probe of long range van der Waals potentials.