Combined plasma gas-phase synthesis and colloidal processing of InP/ZnS core/shell nanocrystals

Indium phosphide nanocrystals (InP NCs) with diameters ranging from 2 to 5 nm were synthesized with a scalable, flow-through, nonthermal plasma process at a rate ranging from 10 to 40 mg/h. The NC size is controlled through the plasma operating parameters, with the residence time of the gas in the plasma region strongly influencing the NC size. The NC size distribution is narrow with the standard deviation being less than 20% of the mean NC size. Zinc sulfide (ZnS) shells were grown around the plasma-synthesized InP NCs in a liquid phase reaction. Photoluminescence with quantum yields as high as 15% were observed for the InP/ZnS core-shell NCs.