In this study, high quality CdSe quantum dots (QDs) were prepared by a rapid and eco-friendly phosphine-free method using paraffin oil as low-cost non-coordinating solvent and oleic acid as a capping ligand thus eliminating the need of toxic and expensive coordinating solvents such as trioctylphosphine (TOP) or tributylphosphine (TBP). XRD analysis confirmed the formation of zinc-blend phase with crystallite size of 10.80 – 12.35 nm. The characteristic red-shift in both absorption and emission spectra was observed with increasing reaction time due to augmented QDs sizes. PL measurements revealed that the QDs exhibited a narrow photoluminescence full width at half maximum (FWHM) of approximately 21-23 nm, demonstrating excellent optical purity, minimal defect-related emission, and high colloidal stability. Effective core radii estimated by the Effective Mass Approximation and Hyperbolic Band Model ranging from 6.4 to 7.2 nm evidenced strong quantum confinement effects.
Bamania et al. (Thu,) studied this question.