Nanocomposite CdSe/Cr 2 Se 3 : Synthesis, Characterization, and in situ Transformation Study

• Published in: Zeitschrift für anorganische und allgemeine Chemie (1950) Vol. 641; no. 2; pp. 214 - 220
• Main Authors: Deng, Mao, Hrkac, Viktor, Schürmann, Ulrich, Erkartal, Burak, Wolff, Niklas, Gerwien, Kathrin, Hesseler, Britta, Beiroth, Femke, Bensch, Wolfgang, Duppel, Viola, Kienle, Lorenz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01-02-2015
• ISSN: 0044-2313; 1521-3749
• DOI: 10.1002/zaac.201400490

A 0‐3 nanocomposite of CdSe (crystalline nanoparticles) and Cr
2
Se
3
(amorphous matrix) was synthesized via a soft chemical approach and characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Particularly the transformation of the 0‐3 composite is explored
in situ
under electron beam irradiation and thermal annealing inside the TEM.
In situ
electron beam irradiation removed exclusively the CdSe nanoparticles and generated a porous Cr
2
Se
3
matrix with a slightly increased crystallinity. The highly localized beam heating and knock‐on effect are attributed to the origin of the
in situ
irradiation transformation. During the
in situ
thermal annealing process of the 0‐3 nanocomposite CdSe particles are eliminated and crystalline nano‐ and microparticles of Cr
2
Se
3
are generated. Also the formation of chromium enriched crystallites is observed. All of these
in situ
results are compared with conventional
ex situ
methods and discussed in terms of the different mechanisms associated with electron beam interaction and size effects of the nanocomposite.