POROUS SILICA GLASSES DOPED WITH QUANTUM-CONFINED CADMIUM SELENIDE

The formation of stable cadmium selenide-doped silica glasses, via semiconductor diffusion into a porous glass obtained using a sol-gel process, is described. Exposure of quantum-confined ('Q-state') CdSe clusters, of average diameter 30 angstrom and dissolved in an ethylpyridine solution, to a colorless sol-gel disk possessing an average pore diameter of 35 angstrom yields an intense red-green glass within hours. Subsequent drying and heat treatment up to 200-degrees-C does not degrade the samples. These CdSe-doped glasses are characterized by both absorption and emission (photoluminescence) spectroscopy as well as surface area measurements. The effect of different functional groups present in the gel pores, Cl- versus OH-, on the properties of the diffused CdSe is also reported.