Raman and Infrared Studies of CdSe/CdS Core/Shell Nanoplatelets

The vibrational spectroscopy of semiconductor nanostructures can provide important information on their structure. In this work, experimental Raman and infrared spectra are compared with vibrational spectra of CdSe/CdS core/shell nanoplatelets calculated from first principles using the density functional theory. The calculations confirm the two-mode behavior of phonon spectra of nanostructures. An analysis of the experimental spectra reveals the absence of modes with a high amplitude of vibrations of surface atoms, which indicates their strong damping. Taking into account the difference in the damping of different modes and their calculated intensities, all bands in the spectra are unambiguously identified. It is found that the frequencies of longitudinal optical (LO) modes in heterostructures are close to the frequencies of LO phonons in bulk strained constituents, whereas the frequencies of transverse modes can differ significantly from those of the corresponding transverse optical (TO) phonons. It is shown that an anomalous thickness dependence of the CdS TO mode is due to a noticeable surface relaxation of the outer Cd layer in the nanostructure.

Automated summary

The vibrational spectroscopy of semiconductor nanostructures can provide important information regarding their structure. In this study, experimental and calculated vibrational spectra of CdSe/CdS core/shell nanoplatelets were compared, revealing the phonon behavior and surface atomic vibration relaxation in nanostructures. The results indicate a noticeable surface relaxation of the outer Cd layer in the nanostructure, affecting the thickness dependence of certain modes.