J. Phys. IV France 12 (2002) Pr4-99
DOI: 10.1051/jp4:20020083

Vapor-phase synthesis and characterization of ZnSe nanoparticles

D. Sarigiannis¹, R.P. Pawlowski¹, J.D. Peck¹, T.J. Mountziaris¹, G. Kioseoglou² and A. Petrou<sup>2

1</sup>  Laboratoire de Catalyse, Chimie Fine et Polymères, École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Toulouse, 118 route de Narbonne, 31077 Toulouse cedex, France
²  Centre Interuniversitaire de Recherche et d'Ingénierie des Matériaux, UMR CNRSIINPT/UPS, École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Toulouse, 118 route de Narbonne, 31077 Toulouse cedex, France

Abstract
Compound semiconductor nanoparticles are an exciting class of materials whose unique optical and electronic properties can be exploited in a variety of applications, including optoelectronics, photovoltaics, and biophotonics. The most common route for synthesizing such nanoparticles has been via liquid-phase chemistry in reverse micelles. This paper discusses a flexible vapor-phase technique for synthesis of crystalline compound semiconductor nanoparticles using gas-phase condensation reactions near the stagnation point of a counterflow jet reactor. ZnSe nanoparticles were formed by reacting vapors of dimethylzinc: triethylamine adduct and hydrogen selenide at 120 Torr and room temperature (28 °C). No attempt was made to passivate the surface of the particles, which were collected as random aggregates on silicon wafers or TEM grids placed downstream of the reaction zone. Particle characterization using TEM, electron diffraction, Raman and EDAX revealed that the aggregates consisted of polycrystalline ZnSe nanoparticles, almost monodisperse in size (with diameters of ~40 nm). The polycrystalline nanoparticles appear to have been formed by coagulation of smaller single-crystalline nanoparticles with characteristic size of 3-5 run.

© EDP Sciences 2002