Morphological controlled synthesis of hierarchical copper selenide nanocrystals by Oleic acid, 1-Dodecanethiol and 1-Octadecene as surfactants

Copper selenide nanocrystals with hierarchical morphologies were prepared using solution processed colloidal method by employing cost effective environmentally benign surfactants. The hierarchical morphologies such as interconnected nanoflakes, stacked hexagonal nanoplatelets and nanoflowers like morphologies were synthesized using Oleic acid, 1-Dodecanethiol and 1-Octadecene as surfactants. XRD analysis reveals that the prepared nanocrystals crystallize in Cu2−xSe phases. Morphological analysis confirms that the nanocrystals exhibit hierarchical structures. EDX analysis depicts the phase purity and stoichiometric ratio of copper to selenium. The absorption spectra and the band gap energies were estimated from optical analysis. The surface passivation of surfactants over the copper selenide nanocrystals were confirmed from the FTIR analysis.