Reverse micellar systems: self organised assembly as effective route for the synthesis of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals

Nanoparticles can be obtained by using self-assembly molecules as a template, exploiting confined growth inside the surfactant film of microemulsion system. In this work, the feasibility of using quaternary water-in-oil microemulsion (CTAB/hexane/pentanol/water) to synthesise nanometer-sized structures of semiconductor material (CdS) with desired size distribution is described. Stochastic kinetic simulations have been utilised to account for the observed template effect of the microemulsion aggregate size on the nanocluster growth.