Relationship between absorbance spectra and particle size distributions for quantum-sized nanocrystals

The shape of the absorbance edge for a suspension of semiconductor quantum particles is influenced both by the electronic transition and the distribution of band gaps in the system. Using a suitable model to relate the absorption energy to the particle radius, we demonstrate this relationship by inferring the particle size distribution from the absorbance spectrum of a suspension of ZnO quantum particles, and comparing it to the distribution obtained from transmission electron microscope images. This analysis is broadly applicable to quantum particle suspensions of many of the II-VI or III-V compound semiconductors.