Synthesis of CdM (M = Se, O) micro and nanoparticles by pulsed laser ablation in water

Abstract

The pulsed laser is highly used in optics and material sciences, where the high energy of the laser pulse produces an ablation effect that is applied to the obtention of nanoparticles by impacting a target material. We present a complete methodology that includes the preparation of a CdSe target and the synthesis of CdM (M = Se, O) micro and nanoparticles in water by pulsed laser ablation from the previously prepared CdSe target. The laser energy lets to control the properties of particles; we obtain four CdM micro and nanoparticles samples with four different laser energies, that is, 10.25, 20.72, 30.38, and 39.72 mJ. The best result was achieved with 30.38 mJ; at this energy, we obtain nanoparticles with Z‐average size below 100 nm, confirmed by analysis of dynamic light scattering (DLS). In the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the particles obtained at 30.38 mJ, we observed polydispersity in the sample, in addition to irregularly shaped nanoparticles and particle agglomerations. The analysis of the characterization by UV–Vis, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) suggests the presence of micro and nanoparticles of CdSe and CdO in the sample.