Confinement effects of CdSe nanocrystals intercalated into mesoporous silica

CdSe nanocrystals are intercalated into ordered hexagonal arrays of mesoporous silica. The nanocrystals are clearly confined in the channels and their size was estimated to be consistent with the pore size. Transmission electron microscopy suggests that CdSe nanocrystals have a spherical morphology and are stabilized from aggregation after intercalation. The shift of the longitudinal optical bands in the Raman spectra is caused by a combination of phonon confinement and strain effects from the compressed lattice of the intercalated CdSe nanocrystals and the experimental results agree well to the theoretical consideration.