Lattice Monte Carlo simulation of semiconductor nanocrystal synthesis in microemulsion droplets.

A lattice Monte Carlo model has been developed to describe the formation of a single semiconductor nanocrystal (quantum dot) inside a droplet of a microemulsion. The motivation stems from the need to understand the kinetics of quantum dot formation in microemulsion templates with minimal droplet-droplet coalescence. In these systems, a fixed amount of a reactant is dissolved in each droplet, and another reactant is supplied by diffusion through the interface.