Hybrid Au-CdSe and Ag-CdSe nanoflowers and core-shell nanocrystals via one-pot heterogeneous nucleation and growth.

A general approach, based on heterogeneous nucleation and growth of CdSe nanostructures on Au or Ag nanocrystals, for the synthesis of Au-CdSe and Ag-CdSe hybrid nanostructures is developed. The new approach provides a versatile one-pot route for the synthesis of hybrid nanoflowers consisting of a gold or silver core and multipod CdSe rods or an intact CdSe shell with controlled thickness, depending on the nucleation and growth parameters. At lower growth temperatures such as 150 °C, the CdSe clusters are adsorbed on the surface of the metal cores in their surface defects, then multiple arms and branches form, resulting in nanoflower-shaped hybrid structures. Increasing the size of the metal core through the choice of the reducing and capping agents results in an improvement of the interface between the metal and CdSe domains, producing core-shell structures. The growth temperature appears to be the most important factor determining the nature of the interface between the metal and CdSe domains. At relatively high temperatures such as 300 °C, the formation of large, faceted Au cores creates preferential growth sites for the CdSe nanocrystalline shell, thus resulting in well-defined Au-CdSe core-shell structures with large interfaces between the Au and CdSe domains. The present approach is expected to foster systematic studies of the electronic structures and optical properties of the metal-semiconductor hybrid materials for potential applications in photovoltaic and nanoelectronic devices.