Syntheses of CdTe quantum dots and nanoparticles through simple sonochemical method under multibubble sonoluminescence conditions

Abstract

Colloidal cadmium telluride (CdTe) quantum dots (QDs) and their nanoparticles have been synthesized by one pot sonochemical reactions under multibubble sonoluminescence (MBSL) conditions, which are quite mild and facile compared to other typical high temperature solution-based methods. For a typical reaction, CdCl2 and tellurium powder with hexadecylamine and trioctylphosphine/trioctylphosphineoxide (TOP/TOPO) as a dispersant were sonicated in toluene solvent at 20 KHz and a power of 220W for 5-40 min at 60 °C. The sizes of CdTe particles, in a very wide size range from 2 nm-30 μm, were controllable by varying the sonicating and thermal heating conditions. The prepared CdTe QDs show different colors from pale yellow to dark brown and corresponding photoluminescence properties due mainly to the quantum confinement effect. The CdTe nanoparticles of about 20 nm in average were found to have band gap of 1.53 eV, which is the most optimally matched band gap to solar spectrum.