Preparation of Quantum-Sized Semiconductor Sulfide-Doped Gels

Abstract

ABSTRACTUltrasmall semiconductor particles (CdS, ZnS and PbS) are produced either by direct precipitation, γ-radiolysis or in mimetic membranes. A pure cluster powder is then prepared from a chemical capping reaction. The capping of the cluster surface by thiolate complexes permits the separation of aggregates without fusion. These capped clusters can be dispersed in different solvents such as sol-gel precursors allowing to prepare dense and optically transparent xerogels with semiconductor clusters grafted on oxide polymers. The nanocrystallites are characterized by X-ray diffraction, small-angle X-ray scattering and optical spectroscopy.