DSpace at VNU: Study on the fabrication of CdZnSe ZnSeS ternary alloy quantum dots

Int. J. Nanotechnol., Vol. 12, Nos. 5/6/7, 2015

Study on the fabrication of CdZnSe/ZnSeS ternary
alloy quantum dots
Pham Thu Nga*, Nguyen Hai Yen,
Dinh Hung Cuong, Nguyen Ngoc Hai
and Nguyen Xuan Nghia
Institute of Materials Science,
Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology,
18 Hoang Quoc Viet Road,
Cau Giay District, Hanoi, Vietnam
Fax: +84 43 83 60 705
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*Corresponding author

Vu Thi Hong Hanh
Faculty of Physics,
Thai nguyen University of Education,
Luong Ngoc Quyen Street,
Thai Nguyen City, Vietnam
Email:

Le Van Vu
Center for Materials Science,
University of Natural Science, VNU, Hanoi,
334 Nguyen Trai St, Thanh Xuan Dist. Hanoi, Vienam
Email:

Laurent Coolen
Sorbonne Universités,
UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, UMR 7588,
Institut de NanoSciences de Paris (INSP),
F-75005, Paris, France
Email:

Copyright © 2015 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

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Abstract: In an effort to search for new compositions and structures of
quantum dots with suppressed blinking photoluminescence (random switching
between states of high (on) and low (off) emissivity under continuous
photo-excitation) and to serve application purposes in biosensors and in
optoelectronic devices, we have studied the fabrication of new CdZnSe/ZnSeS
ternary alloy quantum dots (QD). In this work, we present new results on the
fabrication of the alloy core/shell quantum dots having a shell thickness of
about 1.52 nm and a varied shell composition in Se/S ratio. The influence of the
growth temperature on the structural properties (crystalline phase and cell),
size and elemental compositions of the core and core/shell QDs is presented.
Analysis and in-depth comparison of the calculated ternary QDs’ composition
are performed based on the energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) data
and the first exciton absorption peak position and size. Interpretation of the
experimental results is also provided.

Keywords: ternary quantum dots; structural properties; CdZnSe/ZnSeS;
crystalline phase; alloy composition; size.
Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Nga, P.T., Yen, N.H.,
Cuong, D.H., Hai, N.N., Nghia, N.X., Hanh, V.T.H., Vu, L.V. and Coolen, L.
(2015) ‘Study on the fabrication of CdZnSe/ZnSeS ternary alloy quantum
dots’, Int. J. Nanotechnol., Vol. 12, Nos. 5/6/7, pp.525–537.
Biographical notes: Pham Thu Nga is an Associate Professor, PhD in the
Physics at the Institute of Materials Science, of Vietnam Academy of
Science and Technology (VAST). Her research interests include colloidal
semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) from synthesis, optical spectroscopy to
device fabrication, aimed for different applications fields such as biosensor,
quantum dot-light emitting diode (QD-LED) and quantum dots-sensitised solar
cell (QDSSC). She is also interested in the interaction of light in nano-sized
solids and opal photonic crystals.
Nguyen Hai Yen obtained her Master’s degree in Physics in 2010. Currently,
she is a PhD student at Institute of Materials Science-VAST. Her research
focuses on the structural and optical properties of the alloy quantum dots.
Dinh Hung Cuong was a Bachelor of Engineering Physics at University of
Engineering and Technology, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNUH).
From 2008 to 2013, he was a Master and PhD student at Graduate School,
Division of Energy System Research at Ajou University, Korea. His interests
are synthesis and characterisation of electrode materials, quantum dots and
photonic crystals, electrochemistry, nanoparticle morphology and orientation
crystal.
Nguyen Ngoc Hai graduated from the Faculty of Physics of Thai Nguyen
University of Education, in 2001. He obtained his Master’s degree in
Physics of Solid States (2008) at Hanoi National University of Education.
He is PhD student at Institute of Materials Science, VAST. Currently, he is
focusing on the fabrication and the optical properties of the II-VI group
quantum dots and the application in biosensors for the detection of pesticide

residues.
Nguyen Xuan Nghia obtained his PhD in Solids Physics in 1994. His research
focuses on the field of nanomaterials including the synthesis of differently
shaped nanocrystals, their optical and vibrational properties, and the application
of nanostructures in optoelectronics.


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Vu Thi Hong Hanh obtained her PhD in Solids Physics in 2012 at the Institute
of Physics at Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology. Her research
focuses on the optical properties of quantum dots and the effect of the shells’
thickness on spectroscopic properties of semiconductor nanocrystals.
Le Van Vu is an Associate Professor, PhD and lecturer at the Department of
Physics and the Centre of Materials Science, University of Natural Science,
VNUH, Hanoi, Vietnam. He research focuses on the structural properties of
nano materials.
Laurent Coolen acquired a PhD in Solids Physics at the Université
Denis Diderot, Paris 7 (Laboratoire Kastler-Brossel) in 2006 on nanocrystal
photophysics (advisor: J.-P. Hermier). He worked as a post-doctoral researcher
at Stanford University in W.E. Moerner’s group in 2007. He has been since
2007 a Lecturer at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris 6 and studies
nanophotonics at the Institute de NanoSciences de Paris.
This paper is a revised and expanded version of a paper entitled ‘Study on the
fabrication of CdZnSe/ZnSeS ternary alloy quantum dots’ presented at
4th International Workshop on Nanotechnology and Application, Vung Tau,
Vietnam, 14–16 November, 2013.

1

Introduction

Nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs) have great potential as a unique optical material in a
broad range of applications that rely on downshifting light, especially those which rely
on achieving spectral purity at high optical flux [1]. High particle uniformity, high
photoluminescence quantum yields, narrow and symmetric emission spectral line shapes
and minimal single-dot emission intermittency (known as blinking) have been recognised
as universal requirements for the successful use of colloidal quantum dots in nearly all
optical applications. However, synthesising samples that simultaneously meet all these
four criteria has proven challenging [1]. The colloidal core/shell ternary QD nanocrystals
of CdZnSe were reported as non-blinking semiconductor nanocrystals [2]. Thus, the
synthesis of continuously emitting single nanocrystals would have profound influences
on the usage of nanocrystals in applications for biology, quantum optics and
optoelectronics [2]. On the other hand, research on band gap engineering via control of
nanocrystal composition, which is achieved by adjusting the constituent stoichiometry of
alloyed semiconductors, is still in its infancy [3]. For alloy nanocrystal quantum dots,
their optical properties depend on both parameters: their size and composition. There
have been some reports on alloy QDs like ZnxCd1−xSe [4–7]. To better confine the
electron-hole pairs in CdZnSe QD core, the shielding with an extra layer of a wider band
gap semiconducting material, such as ZnS, ZnSeS, and CdZnS is necessary in order to
ensure carrier confinement to the core regions. Wang et al. [2] described ‘non-blinking’
core/shell CdZnSe/ZnSe QDs that have an alloy composition core. By using the hightemperature reaction route, at temperatures slightly lower than that used for the core
growth, the shell layer is formed. In an effort to study the monitoring of CdZnSe alloy
QDs’ optical properties and their photoluminescence blinking when shielded with an
extra shell, which has changes in band-gap different from a ZnSe binary composition
layer, we have studied the fabrication of ZnSeS ternary composition shell. In this work,

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we have used our familiar synthesis method [8,9] to prepare the CdZnSe/ZnSeS QDs
whose structural characterisation and properties will be presented in this paper. In order
to create CdZnSe alloy QDs, Zhong et al. [6] presented in the process of forming a CdSe
seed, then forming alloys, following the mechanisms of embryonic nuclei-induced
alloying process. In our fabrication process, the ZnSe seeds were pre-prepared then
formed alloys with Cd2+ ions at intermediate temperatures, following the mechanisms of
embryonic nuclei-induced alloying process to obtain CdZnSe alloy QDs. The synthesis
method of CdZnSe/ZnSeS ternary alloy QDs along with some new results on the effects
of the growing temperature to structural properties (crystalline phase, shape), size and
composition of the CdZnSe ternary QDs are presented in this paper. For different
synthesis temperatures, we discuss the obtained QD size and alloy composition, as well
as their photo physical properties. We demonstrate perfect shape and size distribution of
the CdZnSe/ZnSeS QDs and discuss their structural properties.

2

Experimental

2.1 Materials
Cadmium acetate (Cd (Ac)2, 99.9%), zinc acetate (Zn (Ac)2, 99.9%), selenium powder
(Se, 99.99%), hexamethyl disilthiane (TMS)2S, trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO, 99%),
trioctylphosphine (TOP, 90%) and hexadecylamine (HDA, 99%) and organic solvents
(chloroform, toluene, methanol, hexane, etc.) were purchased from Aldrich. The
chemicals were used as received unless otherwise specified.

2.2 Synthesis of CdZnSe ternary core quantum dots

For a typical synthesis of 0.5 mM of CdZnSe ternary nanocrystal QDs, the molar ratio
of the precursors for the reaction is: Cd/Zn/Se = 0.2/0.8/3.33; TOPO/HAD = 55/45.
The core fabrication process is performed through two steps. For the synthesis of CdZnSe
QDs samples, 3.325 g of TOPO and 1.6625 g of HDA are poured into a three-neck
reaction flask. Nitrogen gas was used to remove water vapour and oxygen from the
reaction flask at room temperature for 30 min, then at 120°C for one hour. The TOP-Se
precursor is injected into the flask under vigorous stirring and heating at temperatures up
to 100°C in N2 atmosphere. After heating the reactor up to 190°C under continuous
stirring, the zinc precursor solution is injected into the reaction flask. Then the
temperature of the flask is increased up to 280°C, at which temperature the cadmium
stock solution is injected into the reactor. As the temperature of the liquid in the reaction
flask drops to ~260°C, the nucleation of CdZnSe alloy quantum dot nanocrystals starts
quickly. After growing CdZnSe alloy quantum dots for 20 min at different temperatures
from 260°C to 310°C, we then obtain CdZnSe ternary QDs core with the x value of Zn
varied from 0.5 to 0.7. The growing time of 28 min gives the same result as for 20 min.

2.3 Method of growing ZnSeS shell on CdZnSe core
The molar ratio of the precursors for growing the ZnSeS shell is: Zn/(Se + S) = 1.37/1.
The shells are grown following a modified version of the successive ion layer adsorption


Study on the fabrication of CdZnSe/ZnSeS ternary alloy quantum dots

529

and reaction (SILAR) procedure originally described by Jack Li et al. [10]. For the ZnSeS
shell growth, TOP-Se is mixed with (TMS)2 S (Se/S molar ratio = x/(1 – x); x = 0.2, 0.4,
0.5, 0.6 and 0.8). The zinc stock solution drop-by-drop is injected very slowly (a drop
~50 µl) at a rate of 1–2 drops/second, under vigorous stirring, then the mixture of
(TMS)2S and TOP-Se is added to the alloy QD core solution. After the end of each turn

of Zn precursors and (TOP-Se & S2–) mixture’s injection, the reaction temperature is kept
at 240°C and stirred strongly under N2 atmosphere for 15 min so that ions can have
enough time to stick to the outer layer of the CdZnSe core, thus forming single-layers and
giving the best reaction productivity. Several 15-min delays between injection steps are
necessary to produce multi-shell QDs. The time for ternary ZnSexS1–x shell growth is
15 min. At the end of this step we obtain the CdZnSe/ZnSeS QDs and the expected shell
thickness is approximately 1.52 nm. In this experiment, the amount of chemicals for the
shell calculated for the estimated cores size is approximately 5 nm. After 15 min after the
core/shell ternary quantum dots formed, the heater is removed and the reaction mixture is
cooled down to stop the reaction. When the temperature of the reaction mixture cools to
below 70°C, the ternary QDs are dispersed in organic solvent (such as chloroform and
toluene etc.). A little amount of the sample is extracted after the growth of each shell for
optical measurements.

2.4 Methods of characterisation of CdZnSe/ZnSeS ternary quantum dots
Each sample was purified three times to remove excess organic coordinating compounds
before powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS)
measurements. Methanol is used to precipitate the QDs, which are isolated by
centrifugation and decantation. The powder X-ray diffraction (Siemens, D5005) is used
to identify the wurtzite (w) or zinc-blende (zb) crystal structure with characteristic peaks
of the QD samples. The XRD patterns were compared with the tabulated values of bulk
CdSe (JCPDS card No. 19-191 (zb) and 8-459 (w)), ZnSe (JCPDS 37-1463 (zb) and
15-105 (w)) and ZnS (JCPDS 5-566 (zb) and 39-1363 (w)). The elemental analysis is
carried out using a Nova NanoSEM 450 scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped
with an energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The EDS method has been used
to analyse the composition of the elements Cd, Zn, Se and S present in the ternary
QD samples. The size of the core QDs and the shell thickness are determined by the
transmission electron microscopy (TEM) method, using a JEOL Jem 1010 microscope
operating at 100 kV. The absorption characteristics of the QDs were measured by
UV-visible absorption spectroscopy (Shimadzu, UV-1800). For optical characterisation

of the sample, all the QD samples were diluted with toluene.

3

Result and discussion

For the CdZnSe QD cores, during the synthesis process, we noticed that the growth
temperature of the nanocrystals is the most important factor, affecting the composition
and size of the CdZnSe ternary quantum dots. For the synthesis of different samples,
in this fabrication method, all parameters but the nanocrystals’ growth temperature are
kept constant.


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3.1 XRD studies
The crystalline phase of the ternary QDs were investigated using powder XRD method.
The CdSe as well as ZnSe normally show duality in their crystalline structure, proving
that they can be formed with either sphalerite (cubic, zinc blende type) or wurtzite
(hexagonal type) structure. The XRD patterns indicate the CdZnSe ternary QDs samples
obtained at low temperature (260°C–280°C) possess a cubic structure (zinc-blend (zb))
(curves 4, 6, 7 and 7a in Figure 1). The peak positions are in between those of bulk zb
CdSe (JCPDS 19-191 data) and zb ZnSe (JCPDS 37-1463 data). As a result, these
CdZnSe cores show a zinc-blende crystal structure, and the diffraction peaks shifted
toward the higher-angle side compared with the pattern of pure zb CdSe. Reflections with
the highest intensity observed from CdZnSe QDs originated from (111) and (220) planes.
The addition of Zn to CdSe has shown to shift (111) and (220) planes to lower ‘d’ value
(i.e., higher θ values) as reported on the CdZnSe thin films [11]. Peaks corresponding

to hexagonal modification of CdSe were observed in small quantities for the obtained
sample at 280°C as observable in Figure 1 (curves 7, 7a). For the ternary QD cores
fabricated in higher temperatures from 285°C to 310°C, (curves 11, B, 13, C, D and E in
Figure 1), we find experimental XRD peaks between the tabulated peaks corresponding
to the wurtzite phases of CdSe and ZnSe, which would be in agreement with a wurtzite
CdZnSe alloy (although, given the width of the experimental spectra, we cannot
exclude a polytype of zinc-blende and wurtzite phases). The wurtzite structure would be
consistent with the structure reported in Zhong et al. [12] with a ZnSe-seeded growth
process. In ternary QDs samples, the two components CdSe and ZnSe differ only in the
cations. As the group II cations diffuse much more easily than the group VI anions in
II-VI semiconductors, the Cd2+ and Zn2+ can be intermixed to form an alloy. As the Zn2+
content increased, the diffraction peaks shifted toward the higher-angle side compared to
the pattern of pure CdSe.
Broad XRD peaks are attributed to the small particle size. The growth time of the QD
nanocrystals changes from 20 min to 28 min without changing the properties of the
crystallisation phase of the ternary QDs. The ternary CdZnSe all crystallise at the
zb-alloy CdZnSe phase (curves 7 and 7a- Figure 1). Therefore, we chose the QDs’
growing time to be 20 min.
When growing the ternary ZnSeS shell on the zb CdZnSe cores, at the temperature of
240°C, we can observe that CdZnSe cores show a zinc blende crystalline structure.
With the shell the diffraction peaks shifted toward the higher-angle side compared to the
pattern of zb CdZnSe core. The peak positions are in between those of bulk zb ZnS
(JCPDS 5-566) and zb ZnSe (JCPDS 37-1463) (Figure 2). The peak positions for the
core/shell QDs are shifted to higher angles as compared to the core sample because of
the ZnSeS shell contribution with smaller lattice constant. Although the samples E1–E4
are synthesised with different Se/S precursor ratios, the XRD patterns look similar,
suggesting that Se and S concentrations in the shell did not have clear influence to the
structure of the shell.

3.2 EDS measurement

Elemental composition analysis by the EDS method enables us to establish a detailed
formula of the CdZnSe ternary QD samples and the core/shell structure presented above.
On the other hand, in order to determine the accuracy of the ternary QD composition by


Study on the fabrication of CdZnSe/ZnSeS ternary alloy quantum dots

531

EDS analysis, we have carried out extra calculations based on the TEM images taken
from the samples, and the experimental data Eg of alloy QDs obtained from the
absorption spectra. Composition of the CdZnSe cores calculated from EDS data is
normalised to Cd+Zn = 1 and rounded up/down to ~0.1.
Figure 1

Powder XRD patterns of CdZnSe ternary QD cores with the same reaction time
of 20 min but different growing temperature, from 260°C (6) to 310°C (D). Bulk
diffraction peaks for zinc blende (zb) ZnSe (top blue sticks) and wurtzite (w) ZnSe
(top black sticks) and zb CdSe (bottom red sticks) and w CdSe (bottom blue sticks)
are indexed for identification purpose (see online version for colours)

Figure 2

Powder XRD patterns of CdZnSe ternary QD cores (sample E) and CdZnSe/ZnSeS
core/shell (samples E1, E2, E3 and E4). The sticks patterns show the standard peak
position of bulk wurtzite ZnS (top black sticks) and zb ZnS (top blue sticks), zb ZnSe
(middle red sticks) and zb CdSe (bottom red sticks) are shown (see online version
for colours)

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The Cd/Zn ratios of the CdZnSe (samples B, C, D and E) are established (Table 1).
In pursuit of determining the composition of the shell, with the ternary core/shell QDs,
we suppose that the ratios of Cd/Zn and Cd/Se of the core do not change during the shell
creation process. From the calculation results of the experimental EDS data, we saw that
there is a change in the Se amount in different samples, from 0.2 to 0.5 (with sample
series B) from 0.2 to 0.6 with sample series C, etc.
Table 1

Cd/Zn ratios from EDS data of the CdZnSe ternary QD samples

Sample

Cd/Zn amount

B

0.3/0.7

C

0.4/0.6

D

0.5/0.5

E

0.3/0.7

We also found that, for the quantum dot samples in powder form, their crystalline phase
shows quite clearly that, depending on the fabricating temperature, they either fully
crystallise in zb or w crystalline phase with partly crystallise in a zb small amount,
as shown in Figures 1 and 2. However, with the same samples, when analysing the
elemental composition with the EDS method, we did not get the results on charge
balance between atoms with positive valence (like Cd and Zn) and atoms with negative
valence (like Se), for CdZnSe core QDs. Calculations showed the same for alloy
core/shell QDs. To explain this, we managed to deduce the following reasons:
•

The size of these quantum dots is small (from 4.1 nm to 6.5 nm), making the number
of atoms on the surface much larger than that inside the QDs, so the ratio of the
atoms with positive charge will be other than 1. This is also observed and reported
by the group of Morris-Cohen [13] with CdSe QDs.

•

Since the only experimental analysis method used is EDS, the results on the
elemental composition to deduce the formula of ternary QDs that may have little
errors.

Moreover, the calculated elemental composition with the ternary core/shell QDs may also
have small error because of the assumption that during the shell growth process,
the composition of the core and the number of atoms on their surface are not changed.
However, since the process of shell crystal growth takes place in the solution, we cannot
be sure about this. Thus, the ternary QDs’ formula obtained is actually not balanced in

electronic charge.

3.3 TEM images
The images from TEM measurement has also been used to clarify the shape, size and
uniformity in size of the QDs, as a function of the core crystal growth temperature
and the stages of the shell crystal growth with different composition. Figure 3 shows the
TEM images of four ternary QD samples grown at temperatures 285°C (B), 290°C (E),
300°C (C) and 310°C (D).
From these TEM images, we can see that the QDs of the sample grown at 285°C have
a wide range of size distribution. On the other hand, between 290°C and 310°C, the QDs


Study on the fabrication of CdZnSe/ZnSeS ternary alloy quantum dots

533

are grown with size uniformity. The average particle diameter of the samples changes
accordingly: 5, 5.3, 6.5 and 6.57 nm (the error is approximately ±0.5 ÷ 1 nm).
Figure 3

TEM images of 5 nm (sample B), 6.5 nm (E), 5.3 nm (C) and 6.5 nm (D) CdZnSe core
QDs. Scale bars: 20 nm

However, while growing the QD samples at 310°C, the organic molecules such as TOPO
and HDA in the flask evaporate strongly during the QD growing process. Also, the
samples created at this temperature have lower emission intensity than the other samples.
Therefore, we choose the temperature condition of 285°C-300°C to synthesise the QD
samples. Here, we can also see that when ZnxCd1-xSe QDs are prepared from ZnSe nuclei
or ZnSe QD seeds as used in this study, a red-shift in the emission maximum was
observed during the alloying stage as a result of the decrease in band gap energy as Cd2+

is progressively incorporated into the ZnSe lattice [6,7]. Alloy formation occurred at
temperatures lower than the alloying point for the CdSe-seeded growth, implying that
cation exchange reaction between ZnSe nanocrystals and Cd2+ is more favoured than that
between CdSe and Zn2+. This is attributed to the much lower bond dissociation energy of
Zn-Se (136 kJ mol–1) relative to Cd-Se (310 kJ mol–1) as reported in Regulacio and
Han [3]. From the results on analysing crystalline phase with XRD and all of the analyses
above, it can be assumed that the chosen QD synthesis temperature of 2900C or 300°C is
suitable.
The TEM images of CdZnSe core/shell QDs samples are presented in Figure 4.
The ZnSeS shell with a different ratio of Se/S in the precursor was brought into reaction.
The Se quantity varied from 2.0 to 0.8 in moles. The pre-calculated precursor amount for


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the same shell thickness is ~1.52 nm (1 ML is equivalent to 0.38 nm, the a lattice
constant of ZnS). We found that, when more layers of ZnSeS shell are grown, the size of
the QDs increases a bit, and the average diameter is ~7 nm.
Figure 4

TEM images of CdZnSe QDs and CdZnSe/ZnSexS1-x core/shell QDs with the average
size of 5.3 nm (C), 5 nm (B) to 6.5 nm (E) for the cores and 6.3 nm (bottom left-B),
5.3 nm (bottom middle-E) and 7 nm (bottom right-C) for the core/shell QDs. Scale bars:
20 nm

However, for sample series E, TEM images show that the fabrication of the ZnSeS
shell altered the shape of the QDs, from quasi-spherical shape of the core, to an
elongated shape, and sometimes include both spherical particles and cubes. Owing to the

Study on the fabrication of CdZnSe/ZnSeS ternary alloy quantum dots

535

non-uniformity in shape and size of the QDs, on the absorption spectra of these samples,
the first exciton peak of the QDs is not observed (Figure 5, bottom). In contrast, with
the sample series B and C, owing to the shape and size uniformity, the first exciton peak
is clearly observed in the absorption spectra (Figure 5, top).
Figure 5

Absorption spectra of CdZnSe cores and CdZnSe cores capped with the ZnSeS shell,
from top to bottom for the cores diameter: sample C (5.3 nm) and E (6.57 nm) and
with the same thickness shell of ZnSeS but different Se amount (see online version
for colours)

From a detailed study of the experimental results obtained, as stated above, we can draw
some remarks as follows:
•

The CdZnSe ternary QDs can be obtained at different temperatures, starting
from 260°C to 310°C, following the synthesis method as presented in this paper.
However, the suitable temperature is 285°C–300°C, allowing the obtainment of
the CdZnSe QDs with the most uniform spherical shape, diameter ~5 nm, phase
crystalline w CdZnSe.


536
•

P.T. Nga et al.
XRD pattern and element composition of the same CdZnSe sample are not fully
adequate.

This was observed for all samples that we studied. This is a significant surprise for us:
with the same CdZnSe QDs powder sample, we identify their crystalline phase through
the characteristic diffraction lines and experimental d values obtained from XRD pattern,
but the EDS analysis showed that the Cd/Zn ratio or total (Cd+Zn)/Se ratio in CdZnSe is
smaller than 1, which means the electronic charge of these nanocrystals’ composition is
not equilibrated. An unexpected consequence of this fact is that the underlying lattice
structure change from wurtzite (of ZnSe lattice formed at first moment of the synthesis
process) in the ternary centre region to zinc blende in the ternary surface region (formed
over the time and at growth temperature). One can account for this lattice structure
evolution by noting that the ZnSe nanocrystal at room temperature is zinc blende.
Further explanations for this is the small size (~5 nm) of the QDs, making the number of
atoms (Cd2+ and Zn2+) located on the surface much greater than the number of atoms
inside the QD and because the group II cations diffuse much more easily than the
group VI anions in II-VI semiconductors. The composition analysis of ZnSeS shell gives
similar results.
It can be observed that raising the growth temperature of CdZnSe QDs is the
most important factor, which allows the creation of uniform spherical QDs. At higher
temperatures, for example from 300°C–310°C, alloy QD samples have the Cd/Zn
composition ratio of 0.4/0.6 and 0.5/0.5. This means that the higher the temperature
becomes, the more easily the Cd 2+ ions diffuse into the ZnSe crystal lattice, according to
the fabrication method presented in this paper.
Simultaneous research of the absorption spectra and TEM images of CdZnSe and
CdZnSe/ZnSeS samples of the same series clearly showed that the shape of the
absorption spectra depends on the shape and size of the QDs. Photoluminescence and
blinking properties of the CdZnSe/ZnSeS ternary QDs will be presented in detail in a

forthcoming paper.

4

Conclusions

Some new results on the creation of ternary core/shell QDs are presented in this work.
We were able to fabricate such QDs with high accuracy and reproducible. The study
on the fabrication of a series of CdZnSe/ZnSeS QD samples at different growth
temperatures, while still retaining most other fabricating conditions, has allowed the
determination of the suitable temperature to produce spherical CdZnSe QDs, with high
uniformity in size and shape, as 290°C–300°C. The experimental results allow us to
confirm the alloy nature of CdZnSe QDs fabricated at 300°C for 20 min, whose Cd/Zn
ratio = 0.4/0.6, with an average diameter of ~5 nm. The shielding of ZnSeS with a
~1.5 nm thick shell has increased the average size of the core/shell QDs to approximately
7 nm. The CdZnSe ternary QDs fabricated using this method are Zn-rich QDs.
Explanations have been proposed to clarify the collected data. This may be one of the
first detailed studies on the relationship between crystalline phase, elemental composition
and size–shape of the CdZnSe/ZnSeS ternary core/shell QDs. The CdZnSe/ZnSeS QDs
can be applied for biological purposes and optoelectronic devices.


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Acknowledgements
This research is funded by the Vietnam National Foundation for Science and Technology
Development (NAFOSTED) under grant number 103.06-2011.03, by the PICS project
No. 5724 and the support for young researcher from IMS-VAST. The authors thank the

National Key Laboratory for Electronic Materials and Devices-IMS for the use of
facilities. We sincerely thank Prof. Nguyen Quang Liem for his precious discussions.

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