Synthesis and characterization of II–VI semiconductor nanoparticulates by the reaction of a metal alkyl polymer adduct with hydrogen sulfide

A new method for the preparation of nanosized semiconductor particles such as ZnS and CdS in the quantum confinement diameter region (2–5 nm) is described that utilizes the reaction of polymer adducts (between polymers that contain N and group 12 metal alkyls) with H2S in solution. The preparation conditions (metal/N ratio, concentration, solvent and temperature) were each found to have different effects on the sizes of the particles. TEM studies reveal that the particles are evenly distributed in the polymer matrix (film or resin) with a relatively narrow dispersity in size. The II–VI particles exhibit size quantization and the change in the band-edge position is observed by photoacoustic spectroscopy.