Sequential growth of magic-size CdSe nanocrystals

CdSe nanocrystals of well-defined sizes (so-called magic-size clusters, MSCs) have been grown with progressively larger sizes. During the synthesis, the relative populations of the different families of MSCs vary, as smaller clusters evolve into larger clusters. The time evolution of the various MSCs (see figure) is modeled by taking into account their much higher stability over nanocrystals of any intermediate size. A blue-light-emitting diode based on these MSCs is also presented.