In-situ growth and spectrum characterization of ZnSe nanocrystals in silica gel-glasses

ZnSe nanocrystals were in-situ grown in silica gel-glasses by using sol-gel process and the reductive thermal treatment. The transparent, homogeneous ZnSe/SiO2 nanocomposites with the yellow color were first obtained. We used X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), UV-VIS optical absorption and Raman scattering to characterize the spectrum properties of ZnSe nanocrystals. The broadening of XRD peaks, the blueshift of interband optical absorption edge and the change of Raman spectrum were observed. From these experimental results, we theoretically calculated the size of ZnSe nanocrystals. The results of XRD, optical absorption and Raman spectra were approximately consistent, with the mean diameter of about 4.6 nm. The discrepancies from different methods were discussed.