Cubic HgSe nanoparticles: sonochemical synthesis and characterisation

A convenient sonochemical process for the preparation of HgSe nanoparticles by using Hg(CH₃COO)₂ and SeCl₄ in the presence of hydrazine as reductant agent has been discovered. Three capping agents have been used that include triethanolamine, sodium dodecyl sulfate and thioglycolic acid. The products were characterised by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) and X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy. The effects of the capping agent, ultrasonic power, temperature and reaction time on the morphology, particle size and phase of nano-sized HgSe products have been investigated. HgSe microspheres are obtained after 15 min of sonocation. With increasing aging time, the microspheres were broken and agglomerated nanoparticles are formed. With increasing temperature smaller sizes of HgSe are obtained. The particles coalesce and turn into bulk structures in the absence of sonocation. The as-prepared HgSe shows a blue-shifted emission in the PL spectrum, compared with the bulk sample, which confirms the larger variation of particle sizes.