Formation of monodispersed PVP-capped ZnS and CdS nanocrystals under microwave irradiation

Poly (N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PVP)-capped ZnS, CdS nanoparticles were prepared by a microwave method from Zn(Ac)2 or Cd(Ac)2 and thiourea in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) solution. The reaction process was monitored by the temporal evolution of the absorption spectrum. With PVP as stabilizer, monodispersed semiconductor nanoparticles, which showed high quantum size effect, have been obtained. Further study showed that the microwave irradiation could influence selectively the nucleation and growing rates of different semiconductor nanoparticles.