Zinc selenide (ZnSe) nanoparticles prepared by sol-gel method

ZnSe nanoparticles embedded in SiO
₂
thin films were prepared by sol-gel method using zinc acetate dihydrate, selenic acid and TEOS as source materials. The ZnSe nanoparticles/SiO
₂
thin film composites were deposited on the glass substrate by dip coating technique. FESEM images show that morphology of embedded ZnSe nanoparticles affected by ZnSe/SiO
₂
molar ratio. The optical properties of thin film composite have been investigated via transmittance measurement in the UV-visible wavelength range. It was found that the optical transmission is decreases with increment of the ZnSe/SiO
₂
molar ratio. The highest transmission of 54.6% and the lowest of 36.7% were obtained for the samples with 6% and 14% ZnSe/SiO
₂
molar ratio, respectively. Further observation show that the optical transition in ZnSe/SiO
₂
thin film is direct transition with band gap energy in the range of 2.6 - 3.9 eV.