Optical properties and applications of hybrid semiconductor nanomaterials

Hybrid semiconductor nanomaterials (HSNs) possess unique and interesting optical properties and functionalities that find important applications in emerging technologies. Compared to single component nanomaterials, hybrid nanomaterials offer the possibility and flexibility to control their properties by varying the composition of the materials and related parameters such as morphology and interface. Hybrid nanomaterials are essentially composite materials with relevant physical dimensions for the interface region between different components on the atomic up to nanometer scales, the same length scale of nanomaterials. This article provides an overview of some of the fundamental optical properties of hybrid semiconductor nanomaterials as well as their exploitation for potential applications in different fields. A number of examples from recent research are discussed to illustrate the points of interest and to highlight the salient features of HSNs. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.