Synthesis and spectroscopic investigations of Cu- and Pb-doped colloidal ZnS nanocrystals

A novel organometallic synthesis method for the preparation of colloidal ZnS nanoparticles is presented. This method enables the synthesis of undoped ZnS nanocrystals as well as doping with Cu, Pb, or both. The particles can be covered with an undoped layer of ZnS, forming core/shell-type particles with the ZnS: Pb, ZnS: Cu, or ZnS: Cu, Pb cores. The particles were characterized via TEM, XRD, dynamic light scattering, and optical spectroscopy. We investigated the extrinsic surface defects and their coverage with an additional ZnS layer in detail by temperature-dependent luminescence and luminescence lifetime spectroscopy.