Coarsening kinetics of Mn-doped CdSe nanocrystals

CdSe and Mn-doped CdSe nanocrystals were synthesized by the inverse micelle technique using paraffin oil and oleic acid, and they were found to be highly crystalline with the zinc blende structure. The coarsening behavior of the nanocrystals was monitored using the red-shift in UV-visible light absorption peaks, and their size variation was estimated using the quantum confinement theory. The size values were used for the Lifshitz-Slyozov-Wagner (LSW) analyses for the coarsening kinetics. By determining the activation energy (Q) and reaction rate constant (K_o), the coarsening mechanism was identified as surface diffusion of atoms, and the kinetics equation could be completed for both nanocrystals. The Mn-doped CdSe nanocrystals showed faster coarsening kinetics due to the low activation energy barrier for the diffusion.