On the physico-chemical properties of ZnO nanosheets modified with luminescent CdTe nanocrystals

ZnO nanosheets were synthesized through thermal decomposition of the Zn ₄CO ₃(OH) ₆·H ₂O precursor at increasing temperatures (i.e., 300, 400, and 500 °C), and a multidisciplinary characterization (carried out by X-ray diffraction, SEM and TEM microscopy, FTIR, diffuse reflectance UV-vis and photoluminescence spectroscopy, TGA, and nitrogen adsorption) allowed us to describe the dependence of the physicochemical properties of the final materials on the precursor decomposition temperature. Due to its interesting physicochemical properties (good electrical conductivity, adequate specific surface area, and significant concentration of surface OH groups suitable for sylilation reactions), the ZnO sample, prepared by thermal decomposition of Zn ₄CO ₃(OH) ₆·H ₂O at 400 °C (named ZnO400), was selected as the host solid for the introduction of guest luminescent CdTe nanocrystals. The modification of the ZnO surface with CdTe allowed us to change the optical properties of the final solid, resulting in a tuning of emission properties of the ZnO nanosheets.