Highly emissive ultraviolet ZnSeS nanocrystals (NCs), with a core鈥搒
hell-like structure, were designed and synt
hesized via a one-step noninjection approach in 1-octadecene (ODE). T
hese ultraviolet ZnSeS NCs exhibit bright bandgap emission with high color purity and little trap emission. With full width at half-maximum (fwhm) of 21 nm only, photoluminescent (PL) quantum yield (QY) of 60% was estimated for one ensemble dispersed in toluene exhibiting bandgap absorption peaking at 380 nm and bandgap emission at 389 nm. T
hese alloyed ZnSeS NCs present a cubic crystal structure consisting of a Se-rich core and a S-rich s
hell. Such a gradiently alloyed structure was suggested by our investigation on t
he temporal evolution of optical properties of t
he growing ZnSeS NCs monitored from 80 to 300 掳C, toget
her with structural and compositional characterization performed with XRD, XPS, EDX, and TEM. This newly developed one-step noninjection approach was achieved with zinc oleate (Zn(OA)
2), dip
henylphosphine selenide (SeDPP), and dip
henylphosphine sulfide (SDPP) as Zn, Se, and S precursors, respectively. ZnSe monomers mainly participated in nucleation at 120 掳C, while both ZnSe and ZnS monomers contributed to NC formation in later growth stages (160 掳C and hig
her).
31P NMR study demonstrates that SeDPP is more reactive than SDPP toward Zn(OA)
2, and also supports such a model proposed on t
he combination of ZnSe and ZnS monomers leading to nucleation/growth of ZnSeS alloyed NCs. T
he present study offers conceptual methodology to various highly photoluminescent alloyed NCs with high quality, high particle yield, and high synt
hetic reproducibility.
Keywords:
alloyed ZnSeS nanocrystals; colloidal quantum dots; photoluminescent; henylphosphine&qsSearchArea=searchText">diphenylphosphine; noninjection approach