Journal of Nanoparticles
Volume 2013, Article ID 243831, 7 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/243831
Shape Control of CdTe Nanocrystals: Influence of the Solvent Composition and Ligand Effects
Energy and Semiconductor Research Laboratory, Department of Physics, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Carl von Ossietzky Straße 9–11, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany
Received 15 October 2012; Accepted 1 January 2013
Academic Editor: Vijaya Rangari
Copyright © 2013 Xiaoping Jin et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
CdTe nanocrystals were synthesized by the hot-injection method with a mixture of oleylamine and octadecene as a solvent. The influence of the composition of the solvent and of the injection solution on the shape of CdTe nanoparticles was investigated. Various shapes of CdTe nanocrystals, such as nanodots, nanorods, multipods, and nanowires, could be obtained by changing the reaction conditions. Tuning the reactivity of both the cadmium and the tellurium precursors at the same time was found to be the main reason for the shape control of CdTe nanocrystals in this reaction system. The reactivity of the Cd precursor was controlled by the composition of the solvent, while the activity of the Te precursor could be influenced by using trioctylphosphine and tributylphosphine in the injection solution.