Nanocrystals: Properties, Preparation & Applications

Nanocrystals have been described as any nanomaterial with at least one dimension U 100nm and that is singlecrystalline. More properly, any material with a dimension of less than 1 micron, i.e., 1000 manometers, should be referred to as a nanoparticle, not a nanocrystal. For example, any particle which exhibits regions of crystallinity should be termed nanoparticle or nanocluster based on dimensions. These materials are of huge technological interest since many of their electrical and thermodynamic properties show strong size dependence and can therefore be controlled through careful manufacturing processes. Crystalline nanoparticles are also of interest because they often provide single-domain crystalline systems that can be studied to provide information that can help explain the behaviour of macroscopic samples of similar materials, without the complicating presence of grain boundaries and other defects. Semiconductor nanocrystals in the sub-10nm size range are often referred to as quantum dots. This book presents the latest research in the field.