Controlled growth of CdSe tetrapod nanocrystals

Almost pure tetrapod-shaped CdSe nanocrystals were successfully synthesized using a simple method by controlling the protonic acidity of the cadmium OA-TOP precursor. A detailed investigation on the growth mechanism of CdSe tetrapod nanocrystals has been carried out. The results indicate that the proton (Y ⁺) present not only induce the surface modification but also may affect the growth speed and the special morphology of tetrapods can affect the ripening speed. The field induced emission from CdSe tetrapods was also observed. © 2007 American Institute of Physics