Structural, morphological, and electrical properties of ZnSe nanostructures: Effects of Zn precursors

Synthesizing semiconductors at the nano level are progressing rapidly, with promising results thus opening up diversified applications across the scientific and industrial sectors. By a solvothermal technique integrating a subsequent calcination process, series of nano dimensional ZnSe samples with distinct crystallite sizes and morphologies are synthesized and characterized. The effects of using different Zn precursors on the ZnSe samples characteristics' are scrutinized. The particle size, their morphologies, and electrical properties are significantly influenced amongst various characters. The crystallite size of the as-synthesized samples varied from 10 to 18 nm with change in Zn precursors and nanorods, rectangular shapes, cuboids with rounded corners and some mixed type morphologies are examined through field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) analysis. The ZnSe samples which have the largest crystallite size manifest maximum electrical conductivity.