Synthesis of metal selenide colloidal nanocrystals by the hot injection of selenium powder

We describe the synthesis of metal selenide nanocrystals, including CdSe, ZnSe, CuInSe2 and Cu2(Zn,Sn)Se4, by the hot injection of selenium powder dispersed in a carrier solvent. Since this results in a fast and high yield nanocrystal formation, we argue that the approach is well suited for the low cost, large volume production of nanocrystals.