Remarkable Magneto-Optical Properties of Europium Selenide Nanoparticles with Wide Energy Gaps

J. Am. Chem. Soc., 130 (17), 5710–5715, 2008. 10.1021/ja710165m
Web Release Date: April 9, 2008

Remarkable Magneto-Optical Properties of Europium Selenide Nanoparticles with Wide Energy Gaps

Yasuchika Hasegawa,^†^* Taka-aki Adachi,^† Atsushi Tanaka,^† Mohammad Afzaal,^‡ Paul O’Brien,^‡ Takahiro Doi,^§ Yukio Hinatsu,^§ Koji Fujita,^¶ Katsuhisa Tanaka,^¶ and Tsuyoshi Kawai^†^*

Graduate School of Materials Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, 8916-5 Takayama-cho, Ikoma, Nara 630-0192, Japan, The School of Chemistry and The School of Materials, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13, 9PL, U.K., Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University, North 10 West 8, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0810, Japan, and Department of Material Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Katsura, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto 615-8510, Japan

hasegawa@ms.naist.jp; tkawai@ms.naist.jp

Received November 8, 2007

Abstract:

The enhanced magneto-optical properties of nanoscaled lanthanide chalogenide semiconductors which have a wide energy gap were observed at around 500 nm for the first time. The nanoscaled semiconductors, Eu_1-xSe nanoparticles 1 (cubic shapes) and 2 (spherical shapes), were synthesized by the thermal reduction of Eu(III) ion with organic ligands containing Se atoms. The resulting Eu_1-xSe nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, superconducting quantum interference devices magnetometer, and microwave induced plasma atomic emission spectroscopy measurements. The particle grain sizes of 1 and 2 were estimated to be 11 and 20 nm, respectively. The concentration-normalized Veldet constants (the magnitude of the Faraday effect) of Eu_1-xSe nanoparticles were much larger than those of corresponding bulk EuSe and EuS nanoparticles.

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