One-pot synthesis of ultranarrow single crystal ZnSe nanowires

High-quality wurtzite-type ultranarrow single crystal ZnSe nanowires were synthesized via a one-pot, solution-based method for the first time. The as-prepared nanowires have diameters ranging from 1.0 nm to 3.5 nm and lengths up to 300 nm. The optical characterizations indicate that the as-synthesized ZnSe nanowires have a band gap of 3.31 eV, whose absorbance spectra are different from recent literatures. Both the quantum confinement and the vacancies of Zn in ZnSe or impurities were accounted for the phenomenon. The solvent employed in the synthesis is also playing a dominant role in the size and morphology control of the ZnSe nanowires. A reasonable mechanism was proposed to describe the function of solvent. The excellent properties of the ZnSe nanowires would render it a promising alternative functional material which might be widely used in short-wavelength lasers and other photoelectronic devices.

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► A simple, non-toxic and low-cost solution-based approach was employed to synthesize high-quality wurtzite-type ultranarrow ZnSe nanowires.
► The as-synthesized ultranarrow nanowires exhibit excellent optical properties, which are attributed to the quantum confinement, the vacancies of Zn in ZnSe or impurities.
► Further experiments show oleylamine play a dominant role in forming ZnSe nanowires.