Structure and Composition of Cu-Doped CdSe Nanocrystals Using Soft X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy

The local structure and composition of Cu ions dispersed in CdSe nanocrystals is examined using soft X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES). Using Cu L -edge XANES and X-ray photoelectron measurements (XPS), we find that the Cu ions exist in the Cu(I) oxidation state. We also find that the observed Cu L -edge XANES signal is directly proportional to the molar percent of Cu present in our final material. Se L -edge XANES indicates changes in the Se density of states with Cu doping, due to a chemical bonding effect, and supports a statistical doping mechanism. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements indicate that Cu ions may act as deep electron traps. We show that XANES, XPS, and PL are a powerful combination of methods to study the electronic and chemical structure of dopants in nanostructured materials.