Growth kinetics of CdSe nanoparticles in glass

The growth of CdS 0.08 Se 0.92 nanoparticles in glass is studied through the analysis of optical absorption spectra with the help of a quantized-state effective-mass model in which the conduction band effective mass is particle size dependent. The glass includes nanoparticles with an initial average size of ~1.4 nm on cooling down to room temperature from the melt at ~1000 °C. Particles grow by diffusion of the reactants onto the surface of initially formed nuclei upon heat treatment between 575 and 675 °C. Combined use of Arrhenius plots and the model yields an activation energy of ~500 kJ mol -1 .