Luminescent CdSe and CdSe/CdS core-shell nanocrystals synthesized via a combination of solvothermal and two-phase thermal routes

A new solvothermal route has been developed for synthesizing the size-controlled CdSe nanocrystals with relatively narrow size distribution, and the photoluminescence (PL) quantum yields (QYs) of the nanocrystals can reach 5–10%. Then the obtained CdSe nanocrystals served as cores to prepare the core/shell CdSe/CdS nanocrystals via a two-phase thermal approach, which exhibited much higher PL QYs (up to 18–40%) than the CdSe core nanocrystals. The nanocrystal samples were characterized by ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) absorption spectra, PL spectra, wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).