Solution synthesis of copper selenide nanocrystals and their electrical transport properties

In this paper, we developed a one-pot solution strategy to synthesize copper selenide NCs with controllable shape and structure. By changing the precursors in the reaction, copper selenide NCs (Cu2-xSe nanoparticles, nanorods and CuSe nanoplates) with various morphologies could be achieved. We proposed a possible mechanism to explain the influence of precursors on the shape of copper selenide NCs and we found that the chemical activities of precursors played key roles in the morphologies and crystal structures of the final products. Moreover, the electrical transport properties of as-prepared products were investigated. The morphologies of copper selenide NCs have a great influence on the electrical transport properties. The copper selenide NCs with nanorods display the best electrochemical performance compared with the other two types. We believe that copper selenide NCs would be promising candidates for electrical transport materials.