Nanocomposite CdSe/Cr2Se3: 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: Weinheim WILEY-VCH Verlag 01-02-2015; WILEY‐VCH Verlag; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Beam damage; Electron microscopy; Electrons; In situ observation; Nanocomposite; Nanocomposites; Nanoparticles; Radioactivity; Synthesis; X-rays
• ISSN: 0044-2313; 1521-3749
• DOI: 10.1002/zaac.201400490

A 0‐3 nanocomposite of CdSe (crystalline nanoparticles) and Cr2Se3 (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 Cr2Se3 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 Cr2Se3 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.