Fabrication of ZnSe nanoparticles: Structural, optical and Raman Studies

Abstract In this work, a simple, effective, reproducible and green fabrication process for the production of high-quality, pure ZnSe nanoparticles at low temperature is presented. The structural and optical properties of these nanoparticles have been examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), Ultraviolet-Visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), photoluminescence (PL), and Raman spectroscopy. TEM analysis confirms that the formed products are ZnSe particles with size less than 10 nm, respectively. Strong blue shift absorption with energy band gap of 3.85 eV is observed from UV–vis spectrophotometry. Photoluminescence measurements showed that the nanoparticles exhibit a strong UV emission peak at 380 nm. The blue emission could be attributed to the quantum size effect of ZnSe nanocrystals. Raman spectroscopy of the ZnSe NPs showed a clear shift of transverse optical (TO) and longitudinal optical (LO) phonon modes, as well as a broadening of the LO phonon mode.