Facile Low-Temperature Synthesis of Ultralong Monodisperse ZnSe Quantum Wires with the Assistance of Ag2S

A facile method for the low-cost and large-scale production of ultralong Ag2S (or Ag2Se)?ZnSe quantum wires has been developed. ZnSe quantum wires (diameter approximate to 4 nm) with high uniformity in their crystal structure and diameter can be synthesized by using a catalyst-assisted growth approach with Ag2S nanoparticles as a catalyst. The influence of the growth temperature, time, and type of catalytic particle on the morphology of the ZnSe quantum wires was systematically explored. Besides Ag2S, Ag2Se nanoparticles can also be adopted as the catalyst for the growth of ZnSe wires. This method can also be applied to the fabrication of uniform CdSe nanorods. This method is convenient for the controllable fabrication of metal selenides and is of importance for exploring fundamental nanoscale semiconductor physics, as well as for affording technological devices with optimized characteristics.