Effect of environment on the preparation of CdSe quantum dots capped with mercaptoacetic acid.

We report a preparation of CdSe quantum dots in the presence of capping molecules under ambient air and argon atmospheres. The growth of the quantum dots with applying an equimolar ratio of precursor of Cd2+ and Se2- in the presence of a high percentage of the mercaptoacetic acid as capping molecules is studied. Quantum dots are characterized via EDX, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), UV-Vis optical absorption, Raman and infrared spectroscopy.