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Quantum Dots Lab Report

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Pre-Lab for the Quantum Dots Lab
Sara Lyons, Aleye Momodu, and Sam Winslow
Goal: Synthesize Cadmium Selenide (CdSe) Quantum Dot Crystals using Cadmium Oxide (CdO) and Selenium (Se) dissolved in Triphenylphosphine solution. The product created will be a colloidal solution, bound to the exterior of the crystal lattice and it remains soluble in the octadecene (Boatman & Nordell). Along with this the product will most likely vary in color as well due to the changes in wavelength, energy and transitions, that all correspond to a smaller crystal. The variations in particle size will prove to be an important feature in the experiment, so the goal is to use diverse size particles. The crystals are created in a solution in which they cannot be filtered out since they do not settle.

Background of the Chemistry: Cadmium Selenide is an inorganic compound that is widely used for research on nanoparticles. Cadmium Oxide is an inorganic compound that is mostly used for creating other cadmium compounds because it crystallizes in a lattice like that of NaCl. Selenium is an element that has nonmetal properties, but it is rarely ever found in its pure state, it is often found as a compound. Both, selenium and cadmium are used to synthesize the CdSe used in this experiment. Although these materials can be very hazardous, it has been proven that using these items are the best option for this synthesis. The reasoning for this includes the temperature needed to grow them and they have higher

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