Electronic Impurity Doping in CdSe Nanocrystals

We dope CdSe nanocrystals with Ag impurities and investigate their optical and electrical properties. Doping leads not only to dramatic changes but surprising complexity. The addition of just a few Ag atoms per nanocrystal causes a large enhancement in the fluorescence, reaching efficiencies comparable to core-shell nanocrystals. While Ag was expected to be a substitutional acceptor, nonmonotonic trends in the fluorescence and Fermi level suggest that Ag changes from an interstitial (n-type) to a substitutional (p-type) impurity with increased doping.