Indium Antimonide Nanoparticles Now Available

Indium antimonide has taken its place among III-V semiconductors that can be prepared as uniform-sized nanocrystals via colloidal synthesis methods, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (DOI: 10.1021/ja309821j). The investigation may lead to new types of infrared emitters and detectors and other applications that exploit properties exhibited exclusively by nanoscale crystals. InSb boasts record-setting electron mobility values and other outstanding electronic properties. Currently, the material is prepared in bulk and thin-film forms via standard semiconductor crystal growth methods and some complex vapor deposition techniques. For about a decade, researchers have tried with little success to use common chemical synthesis methods to prepare size-selected InSb nanocrystals. Chemists Wenyong Liu and Dmitri V. Talapin of the University of Chicago and coworkers now report success in that endeavor. The team reacted InCl₃ with an antimony precursor in oleylamine in the presence of lithium triethylborohydride. By tweaking reaction conditions and reagent ratios, the team tailored the crystal size in the 3- to 7-nm-diameter range and confirmed size uniformity via microscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and other methods.