Influence of conditions for synthesis of CdTe nanocrystals on their photoluminescence properties and plasmon effect

Abstract

A colloidal suspension method is used to obtain CdTe nanocrystals modified with thioglycolic acid in aqueous solutions of ethylene glycol. Their photoluminescence spectrum is shifted to shorter wavelengths relative to that of CdTe nanocrystals synthesized in water. It is found that the ethylene glycol molecules participate in the stabilization of the nanocrystals and passivation of surface defects, with an optimum concentration of 10% ethylene glycol in the reactive mixture for production of stably dispersed CdTe. It is difficult to observe plasmon effects in these nanoparticles when Ag nanoparticles are present because cadmium iodide is used as a precursor salt, which leads to the appearance of I2, an oxidant for Ag nanoparticles, in the solution. When a protective polyelectrolyte intermediate layer of thickness ~11.7 nm is deposited on a colloidal silver substrate, the photoluminescence intensity of the CdTe nanoparticles increases by a factor of 1.7. The chemical features of these nanoparticle solutions cause their luminescence characteristics to be highly sensitive to the presence of Ag nanoparticles in the solution. Changes in the position and intensity of the photoluminescence peak are observed for concentrations of Ag nanoparticles in the solution as low as 10–11 mol/l.