Size-controlled synthesis of chalcogen and chalcogenide nanoparticles using protic ionic liquids with imidazolium cation

Abstract

Green synthesis of selenium (chalcogen) nanoparticles (SeNPs) has been successfully attained by simple wet chemical method that involves the reaction of six different protic ionic liquids with imidazolium cations and sodium hydrogen selenide (NaHSe) in the presence of poly ethylene glycol-600 (PEG-600) as an additional stabilizer. The obtained SeNPs were characterized using UV spectral (UV), Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermal analysis (DTA), scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and high resolution transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis. The results illustrate that the synthesized SeNPs are spherical in shape with size ranging 19-24 nm and possess good optical property with greater band gap energy, high thermal stability up to 330 °C, low melting point of 218-220 °C comparing to precursor selenium. Using the synthesized SeNPs, two chalcogenides such as ZnSe and CdSe semiconductor nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized using XRD, SEM with EDX and TEM analysis. The fabricated CdSe and ZnSe nanoparticles appeared like pebble and cluster structure with particle size of 29.97 nm and 22.73 nm respectively.