Interplay between size, morphology, microstructure defects and optoelectronic properties of CdSe nanocrystals

Abstract

Cadmium selenide nanocrystals (CdSe NCs) are frequently used in optoelectronic devices, as they possess unique optoelectronic properties that are highly sensitive to their size, shape and microstructure. Due to the high sensitivity of the properties to the microstructure features, the structure and microstructure of CdSe NCs must be controlled precisely during the synthesis. The CdSe NCs crystallize in thermodynamically stable wurtzitic structure (space group 𝑃6 3 𝑚𝑐), in metastable zinc blende structure (space group 𝐹4 ̅ 3𝑚) and in a mixture of both structures [1]. As a result, another critical issue of the CdSe NCs synthesis is the control of phase composition and formation of microstructural defects, as both issues affect the optoelectronic properties additionally [2,3].