Browsing by Author "Mushonga, Paul"

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    Effects of reaction parameters on the growth and optical properties of PbSe nanocrystals
    (Journal of Nano Research, 2015-07-15) Ouma, Linda Immaculate; Mushonga, Paul; Onani, Martin O.
    Colloidal syntheses of PbSe nanocrystals (NCs) have been widely investigated and the properties of nanocrystals have been shown to vary with reaction conditions, time, concentration and chemistry of reagents as well as the surfactants used. In this work the effects of reaction temperature, solvents, ligand purity, lead and selenium sources on the optical and structural properties of PbSe nanocrystals were investigated. PbSe NCs synthesized at 90 °C were observed to be spherical and had a narrower size distribution as compared to those synthesized at higher temperatures. 1-octadecene, trioctylphosphine and oleylamine were investigated as solvents for NC synthesis with the non-coordinating solvent octadecene showing the fastest growth rate with medium sized NCs. The coordinating solvents trioctylphosphine and oleylamine produced larger and smaller NCs respectively; this could be attributed to solvent interference during NC nucleation and growth phases. Oleate ligands were used during these syntheses and the ligand purity was not observed to have a significant effect on the NC optical and structural properties. The selenium precursor used affected the NC size and their optical properties while the lead source influenced both the NC shape and size. Lead acetate produced cubic NCs which were larger than the spherical NCs obtained when lead oxide was used.
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    Synthesis, optical and morphological characterization of doped InP/ZnSe NCs
    (Physica B: Condensed Matter, 2013-07-22) Mushonga, Paul; Ouma, Linda Immaculate; Madiehe, Abram M.; Meyer, Mervin; Dejene, Francis B.; Onani, Martin O.
    We report on the Ag-, Fe-, and Co-doping of InP/ZnSe QDs using the growth-doping method. Doping the InP/ZnSe NCs with Ag caused a red-shift in the emission spectra with increasing dopant levels while the PL intensity decreased. Fe-doping resulted in blue-shifted emission spectra. The cobalt-doping (Co-doping) had no effect on the emission peak position. Instead, it had a quenching effect on the PL intensities. The HRTEM images showed well-defined lattice fringes for the doped InP/ZnSe NCs while the XRD analyses showed that they retained their zinc blende structure even after doping.