Effect of Nature of Surfactant on the Formation of β-Ag₂Se Nanoparticles and Optical Properties of β-Ag₂Se and ZnS/β-Ag₂Se Nanocomposite

Surfactant assisted synthetic route was followed to prepare silver selenide (β-Ag₂Se) nanoparticles. The effect of three different surfactants viz., Triton X100, SDS and CTAB in the formation of silver selenide nanoparticles had been examined. Pure and crystalline β-Ag₂Se nanophase was obtained in the presence of Triton X100 and SDS. However, the presence of CTAB leads to metallic silver formation. Nano Composite of β-Ag₂Se and ZnS was fabricated in the presence of glycine as a molecular linker. The products were characterized by different techniques such as XRD, FT-IR, SEM and TEM. Room temperature photoluminescence spectrum of the ZnS/ β-Ag₂Se nanocomposite exhibited two emission peaks at around 286 nm and 392 nm with enhanced intensity (l_ex= 250 nm).