Sonochemical preparation of HgSe nanoparticles by using different reductants

A convenient sonochemical process for the preparation of HgSe nanoparticles by using different reductants has been discovered. The HgSe nanoparticles, which were prepared in polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG 400), dextrose and hydroxylamine reductive systems, were analyzed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that all the products were cubic phase HgSe by XRD measurements. The TEM observations showed that the HgSe nanoparticles were monodispersed and electron diffraction images of selected areas show that the products were polycrystalline. The sizes of most of all the HgSe nanoparticles were mainly among 30–40 nm, which were in coincidence with the very sizes that were estimated by Debye–Scherrer equation from the XRD patterns. XPS result showed that the ratio of Hg to Se was 57:43, indicating that the final products were rich in mercury. D 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.