Shape Control of Doped Semiconductor Nanocrystals (d-Dots)

Formation of Mn²⁺-doped ZnSe quantum dots (Mn: ZnSe d-dots) with both branched and nearly spherical shapes has been studied. Structure analysis indicates that the Mn²⁺ dopants were localized in the core of a branched nanocrystal. The growth of branched d-dots, rather than spherical ones, was achieved by simply varying the concentration of two organic additives, fatty acids, and fatty amines. The photoluminescence properties of the branched nanocrystals were explored and compared with those of the nearly spherical particles.