title: Chemical synthesis, structural characterization, optical properties, and photocatalytic activity of ultrathin ZnSe nanorods.
abstract: Ultrathin ZnSe nanorods in the cubic phase have been synthesized by the reaction of selenium and zinc oleate for 30 min at 240 °C. These nanorods showed an average diameter of 2.4 nm, which is much smaller than the Bohr size of bulk ZnSe. Thus, they exhibited a remarkable quantum size effect in terms of their optical properties. The formation of the ultrathin nanorods could be attributed to the oriented attachment mechanism, which was supported by the structure of the nanorods and the control experiments. The ultrathin nanorods were transferred into an aqueous solution by ligand exchange. The performance of these nanorods as a catalyst was examined, using the photodegradation of methyl orange as a model reaction. It was found that the ultrathin nanorods possessed better photocatalytic activities than conventional ones.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, PR China.
authors.forename: Tingting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Zhengping
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Hongjuan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chi
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang