Radial Electron Momentum Densities of Colloidal CdSe Nanocrystals Determined by Positron Beam Analysis

We present depth-resolved positron 2D angular correlation of annihilation radiation (2DACAR) experiments on CdSe quantum dots in the diameter range from 2.5 to 6 nm, deposited as micrometer thin layers. The average radial distribution of the valence electron momentum density (EMD) of CdSe quantum dots has been extracted, which reveals a systematic dependence upon particle size. The quantum confinement related changes and their size scaling observable at the Jones zone momentum of {approx}0.8 a.u. seem to agree with the previous coincidence Doppler study. In addition, the average radial EMD shows an increase in the low-momentum range ( 1.6 a.u.) with respect to that measured on a bulk CdSe single crystal. Possible origins of these are described. First-principles calculations based on the Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker (KKR) method were performed to gain a better insight.