Noninjection Synthesis of CdS and Alloyed CdSxSe1−x Nanocrystals Without Nucleation Initiators

CdS and alloyed CdSxSe1-x nanocrystals were prepared by a simple noninjection method without nucleation initiators. Oleic acid (OA) was used to stabilize the growth of the CdS nanocrystals. The size of the CdS nanocrystals can be tuned by changing the OA/Cd molar ratios. On the basis of the successful synthesis of CdS nanocrystals, alloyed CdSxSe1-x nanocrystals can also be prepared by simply replacing certain amount of S precursor with equal amount of Se precursor, verified by TEM, XRD, EDX as well as UV-Vis absorption analysis. The optical properties of the alloyed CdSxSe1-x nanocrystals can be tuned by adjusting the S/Se feed molar ratios. This synthetic approach developed is highly reproducible and can be readily scaled up for potential industrial production.