Infrared-Emitting Colloidal Nanocrystals: Synthesis, Assembly, Spectroscopy, and Applications

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Vol. 3; no. 4; pp. 536 - 557
• Main Authors: Rogach, Andrey L., Eychmüller, Alexander, Hickey, Stephen G., Kershaw, Stephen V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim WILEY-VCH Verlag 02.04.2007; WILEY‐VCH Verlag
• Subjects: colloids; Colloids - chemistry; Electric Conductivity; Electrochemistry - methods; infrared emission; Infrared Rays; Metal Nanoparticles; Microscopy, Atomic Force; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; nanocrystals; Nanoparticles - chemistry; Nanotechnology - methods; optics; Polymers; Semiconductors; Sensitivity and Specificity; Solvents; Spectrophotometry, Infrared - methods; X-Ray Diffraction
• ISSN: 1613-6810; 1613-6829
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.200600625

Semiconductor nanocrystals produced by means of colloidal chemistry in a solvent medium are an attractive class of nanometer‐sized building blocks from which to create complex materials with unique properties for a variety of applications. Their optical and electronic properties can be tailored easily, both by their chemical composition and particle size. While colloidal nanocrystals emitting in the infrared region have seen a burst of attention during the last decade there is clearly a paucity of review articles covering their synthesis, assembly, spectroscopic characterization, and applications. This Review comprehensively addresses these topics for II–VI, III–V, and IV–VI nanocrystals, examples being HgTe and CdxHg1−xTe, InP and InAs, and PbS, PbSe, and PbTe, respectively. Among the applications discussed here are optical amplifier media for telecommunications systems, electroluminescence devices, and noninvasive optical imaging in biology. IR will go far: There is currently enormous interest in the preparation and application of nanocrystalline materials whose emission is centered in the infrared region of the spectrum. Advances in telecommunications, biological imaging, and LED technology are but some of the many possible fields envisaged to benefit from such tunable materials. This Review provides a comprehensive view of the recent efforts to prepare and utilize IR‐emitting II–VI, III–V, and IV–VI nanocrystals.